The Hutch
by Mary B. Wolf
Summary: Plot bunny haven. #18: Sasuke is going to be Sakura's sister-in-law someday. / slightly genderbent AU, Naruto/Sasuke, Itachi/Sakura / / #19: A samurai attack leaves Sakura's village devestated. One of her lord's men takes her in. / samurai AU, mild Kakashi/Sakura
1. Pain Keeps You HumanLove Keeps You Alive

Just a little something I wrote in a ten-second burst of inspiration. (The writing took more than ten seconds. The inspiration - the first line - didn't.)

Tell me the pairing in a review, if you can figure it out. (It's not hard - look at my other stuff.) I promise no prize. I just wanted to try to challenge someone.

Yes, I own Naruto. That's why this is being published on FanFiction. The URL should be its own disclaimer, but whatever...

* * *

She is seventeen the first time she is forced to kill. She sees the blood on her hands, feels the horror of what she has had to do, and gets sick in nearby bushes.

She goes straight to his apartment the moment she is free from the post-mission debriefing. He has always known how to help her, how to get her over whatever it is that's going on.

"I had to kill someone," she says the moment the door opens. The words come out level and she is dry-eyed, but he knows her well and he can tell that she is about to crack.

"Come in." He opens the door wider and she steps through. She sighs a little at the solid familiarity of the place, and of him, comforted by the knowledge that he'll always be here.

She is sitting on the sofa when he turns to face her. "It gets easier the more you do it. Eventually the pain goes away and you don't feel it anymore," he says. He's lying, because he knows the pain will never go away, and each life he has had to end has always been just as hard as the first.

"I don't want it to get easier," she whispers. "I don't want to have to do it."

He has no real way to respond to that and remains silent.

"I've spent so much of my life, my career, learning to heal, and I've been able to avoid the other end of the spectrum for so long... " Her voice trails away, beginning to waver, her eyes to glass over.

"Why were you the one killing?" he asks, something occurring to him. "You're support, the medic. Where was your team?"

"They were scouting the area," she says, the fine tremor continuing. "I was alone at camp, making dinner, and some crazy man came bursting in... he demanded food, but when I turned to get him some, he... pulled... a kunai... and he attacked me." Her voice is trembling a little more, barely above a whisper. "I tried everything I could think of, but he was not... not normal." Her eyes are shining more.

"Not normal?" he queries.

"He was babbling... but he knew us... he said something, as he was... dying," she says. "He looked straight at me. He said my name, and he told me he hated me." She pauses. "That I made him sick."

She finally snaps and the tears flow and her voice's unsteadiness turns to outright sobs, relieving her eyes of their shine. He gathers her up into his arms. He doesn't murmur into her ear as an ordinary friend would. Instead, he just lets her cry into his green vest until she starts to hiccup.

When her breathing is semi-normal again, he takes her face into her hands and kisses her forehead lightly, and he tells her, "Hatred of you was his loss. You couldn't have made him sick because you ended his pain for him. He was trying to thank you."

"I still took a life," she reminds him.

"That you did," he agrees. "The pain will stay, but that's how you know you're human. Cling to that when everything else collapses. Pain keeps you human. Pain and guilt."

"How human are you?" she asks, knowing she is prodding an open wound.

"Very," he responds, both gruff and soft. "For more reasons than you know."

"It's not just because of your old team anymore?"

"No." He gives her a very pointed look.

She ignores this look. "What is it, then?"

He decides the time has come for her to know. She deserves the truth, and she asked him. "You."

"Me?" She feigns shock and confusion. "I've hurt you? When? And how have I made you guilty?"

"I hurt because I can't have you. I'm guilty because I want you."

"Stop hurting," she suggests. The pain of killing has faded a little, but he always has that effect on her - he gives her sanity in a world of insanity, grounds her when she feels like she'll float away from everything. "Stop being guilty."

"And how do I do that?" He is genuinely confused.

"Take what you want. I'm right here."

"Don't toy with me." He is scared.

"I'm not," she reassures.

Anger begins to override the fear. "Why? Why now?" he demands.

She smiles faintly. He deserves the truth, too. "Because I love you. Because you give me hope. Because when I see you, the pain fades. Because you're the first person I run to after everything falls to pieces." Her smile widens a little. "And because... pain and guilt may keep you human, but love and hope keep you alive."


	2. First and Last

Another of my "writing binge" works. I have about six or seven pieces for Comatose Collection before I work on anything else.

Don't own Naruto. Enjoy.

* * *

Many of their firsts was also a last. They first time they each noticed the other in that way one person notices someone they're attracted to, they knew it would be the last time they thought of the other as what they had been before. The first time they looked at each other in that special, secret way that lovers have, it would be the last time they ever looked at someone else that way.

The first time they kissed, it was the last time they would ever kiss anyone but each other (and their children, but they came later). The first time they went out on a date, it was the last time they ever went out on a date with anyone else. The first time he ever walked her home after a date, it would be the last time anyone else walked her home after a date. The first time they ever lay in each other's arms (after the first time they ever made love, which was the last time they ever made love to anyone else), it was the last time they lay in anyone else's. The first time they confessed love to each other, it was the last time they would ever say those words to another.

The first time he ever proposed was also the last time he ever would (not that he did that kind of thing often, anyway), and the first time she accepted was the last offer of marriage she accepted.

There were also many firsts that weren't lasts - their first child was not their last; two more followed. And they first time they ever bid each other farewell for a mission was not the last - for which they both thanked the very stars of heaven.

The first time he said something stupid and offended or hurt her was not the last time he did. The first time he apologized for saying something stupid and offending or hurting her was not the last. The first time she forgave him for saying something stupid and offending or hurting her was not the last. But that all comes with the territory when dealing with a man.

The first time she accidentally insulted his masculinity or made a careless comment about his age was not the last, and the first time she apologized for doing so wasn't the last.

He had to sleep on the couch more than once - but then, so did she.

There were so many other first and last moments between the two that it is nearly impossible to relate them all, but suffice it to say, they enjoyed many firsts - and lasts - together, even in the afterlife.


	3. Lemonade

No, you pervs, this is _not_ a lemon story. Don't write those. It's just a sweet bit of fluff that I wrote after a line about lemonade hit me (coincidentally while I was making some). I do _not_ own Naruto.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had been in love for a long time. One day, during dinner, she looked up at the love of her life, studying him intently.

He noticed after a while. "What?" he asked, slurping a noodle up quickly, a little unnerved by her stare.

"Nothing, really, Naruto," she said back in her soft voice. "Just... I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Hinata," he answered and gave her a boisterous smile. Then he went back to devouring his food.

He had almost finished his plate when she started again.

"This is going to sound very bizarre, Naruto, but every time I look at you, I think of lemonade," she told him quietly.

"Lemonade?" He was puzzled.

"Yes, lemonade," she laughed. "It comes from lemons, tremendously bitter and sour. But lemonade is refreshing, sweet, something everyone loves. Like you. You have a bitter past, but you're one of the sweetest, most refreshing people I know, and I really do love you more than words can say." Hinata paused, making a decision that had been swirling in her thoughts for a while. "I know it's unconventional for a woman to do this, but... Naruto, will you marry me?"

The young man in question was slightly taken aback. A marriage proposal was the last thing he expected from his usually demure girlfriend. Nevertheless...

"Yes, Hinata, it would be an honor to be your husband. I love you, too."

And, cliché as it is, lemonade took on a special place in their hearts, an inside joke that no one else really ever understood. They made up to each other with lemonade, and made it for special occasions. It was served at their wedding, birthday celebrations and, after Naruto died - thirty years, four children, and the fulfillment of a dream later - Hinata served it at the funeral and took it to the memorial on anniversaries until her own death.

They were known as the "lemonade couple" among their friends and, as the story was passed down, Naruto became known as the Lemonade Hokage.


	4. Strength of Will

Kakashi had always prided himself on having a strong will. Like iron, hard and inflexible. His will _was_ one of his better points, after all. He had resisted many temptations over the years.

But when he looked at the positively _delectable_ young woman across the room, he knew he needed to find something harder. She as much as told him so when she shot a sly glance his way and smiled because his eye caught her green ones.

When and how this odd fascination/infatuation had begun was not hard to figure out: her seventeenth birthday, she had looked so stellar and seemed so adult. But she wasn't and, while his more perverted self wanted desperately to ignore the next point, his damned rationality wouldn't let him forget that she wasn't—not really.

Until he remembered that, legally, yes she was. In every sense of the word: fourteen—age of consent for shinobi; sixteen—drink alcohol; seventeen—legal adulthood.

She was a strong-willed downright stubborn legal adult, too.

She sauntered over, settled herself down and amiably struck up a conversation with uncharacteristic directness.

"I know what you're thinking," she said first. "For being a ninja, you sure are being obvious about it." She laughed. "But that's good. We can't sneak around."

"There is no 'we,' Sakura. There won't ever be."

"Ridiculous," she countered. "Of course there will. I know you have strong will, but you'd better find a way to fortify it with diamonds, because I can and have broken and bent iron, Kakashi."

And he knew he was in some serious trouble. But his curiosity was piqued. How far would she go to break him? He was practically ruined for human companionship anyway.

And he was definitely starved for it. Well, hers anyway.

"It won't take too awful much from me; that I know," she commented, absently leaning toward him to brush hair away from his eyes. Her fingertips lingered on his cheek and at the edge of his mask boldly. She grinned and it was both sheepish and wolfish—as though both the angel and devil in her were coming out.

His will was about as hard as overcooked noodles now.

His own wolfish grin was revealed as he removed the mask, and his only thought before his mouth sampled hers was _Who knew diamonds crumbled so easily?_


	5. Themed

_Comfort – 1_

Kakashi was the one who comforted their daughter after her first break-up; Sakura was too busy summoning Pakkun to track the boy down so she could castrate him.

_Kiss – 2_

Sakura's first kiss wasn't with Kakashi; Kakashi's first kiss wasn't with Sakura—but they both knew, the moment their lips touched, that their firsts should have been each others'.

_Soft – 3 _

In spite of the hard-assed image he strived for, Kakashi was rather soft-hearted, especially when it came to his pink-haired former student; he never had figured out a way to say no to her when she turned on the puppy eyes.

_Pain – 4 _

He was infinitely surprised when Sakura landed a blow on his chest, so much so that the pain was muted for a moment; when it registered, he knew he was in serious trouble.

_Potatoes – 5 _

Many a curious onlooker inquired as to the beginning of their relationship; they all walked away, shuddering, when the couple looked at each other in that sickeningly sweet way couples have and said, "Well, there was this one time when someone gave Naruto a potato and…"

_Rain – 6 _

The first time he kissed her, it was drizzling; the first time they made love, it was pouring; when he asked her to marry him, it was storming.

_Chocolate – 7 _

Out of everything she'd expected to taste when she finally kissed Kakashi, chocolate was last on the list; Sakura had always thought the man disliked sweets.

_Happiness – 8 _

He was never happier than when he heard her moan, "It hurts," because that meant, one, that she could feel again and, two, that she was awake.

_Telephone – 9 _

"Sakura, I thought you unplugged the phone—no, don't lie to me, I can hear it ringing, dammit!"

_Ears – 10 _

Her ears burned a prettier red than her face when he got her flustered enough.

_Name – 11 _

Sakura loved the fact that he traced his teammates' names every morning; it was testament to how deeply the man loved.

_Sensual – 12 _

He'd had many, many lovers, had heard his name moaned and murmured and purred and groaned many, many times, but none of them had been quite as sensual as when she screamed at him that she hated him, it was all his fault and she was going to kill him the moment the baby was born for putting her in that amount of pain.

_Death – 13 _

"Sakura, why is Mr. Ukki dead—all I asked you to do was water him while I was gone!"

_Sex – 14 _

Scarily enough, Sakura was the one pressuring Kakashi for sex; he refused to until they were married—finally she got so fed up that she dragged him to Tsunade and demanded that she marry them.

_Touch – 15 _

The fact that he was a father didn't register until he felt his tiny little green-eyed son touch his finger before grabbing it like it was an anchor.

_Weakness – 16 _

He loves her too much to let her become his weakness.

She demands to know why—"Is it because I'm too weak, or is it because you're too afraid?"—and is cut off from her rant by his kiss.

_Tears – 17 _

It was funny, but Sakura had never seen him cry—until she was being wheeled into the operating room for an emergency Caesarian section because the baby's life (and hers, but that didn't matter so much to her) was at risk.

_Speed – 18 _

The true limits of Kakashi's speed were not discovered until word was given, while he was still two days away from the village, that his fiancée was in labor.

_Wind – 19 _

Kakashi, Naruto and Sai stood in Sakura's living room, waiting for her to come down so they could go to the party; when she appeared, Kakashi had to wonder if Naruto had managed to invent a new jutsu—one that sucked the air out of a room because that was the only reason he could think of to explain why he was so completely and utterly winded all of a sudden.

_Freedom – 20 _

"With freedom comes wings" was an expression Kakashi never understood—until Sakura truly set him free, he had thought he was soaring in life; then he realized he had only been hopping around on the ground, looking like a fool.

_Life – 21 _

"I'm past the stage where I pin all of my hopes, dreams and aspirations on one person; he isn't my whole life, but he's become a rather integral part of it."

_Jealousy – 22 _

It was only a surprisingly small population of Konoha's women who were jealous when they found out that the pink-haired medic had won the heart of the silver-haired technical specialist; many of them congratulated her.

_Hands – 23 _

He was surprised, when she snatched his hand and dragged him off to the hospital, for "the annual physical that you've missed twelve years running, for shame," to find that her hands were no longer soft-skinned and dainty; years of training under Tsunade had given her calluses.

_Taste – 24 _

The entirety of the male shinobi population (and not just in Konoha) decided it was in poor taste to comment on Sakura's…anything while the Copy Ninja was around.

_Devotion – 25 _

After Naruto had dragged his bloody body back from just inside the woods around the gate, and Sakura had dragged his soul back from just outside his body—in spite of the hospital's tacit policy against treating lovers—they both remained whole-heartedly devoted to his recovery.

_Forever – 26 _

Kakashi was terrified when Sakura pulled away after he asked if she'd ever leave him, until she smacked the back of his head and said, "No, idiot, you're stuck with me forever."

_Blood – 27 _

He asks himself on a daily basis, "Would she still want me if she knew the blood my hands were stained with?" until he realizes…her hands are just as stained, and he still loves her.

_Sickness – 28 _

Sakura was away on a mission the first time their son got sick; Kakashi ran around in a panic, thinking she was going to kill him because he'd ruined their baby.

_Melody – 29 _

She teased him mercilessly when she found out he sang in the shower; her comeuppance came when he discovered she hummed while she healed.

_Star – 30 _

The stars shine on their wedding; the stars shine on their funerals; the stars shine when they meet again in the afterlife.

She says his hair reminds her of starlight and songs.

_Home – 31 _

When he knocked on Sakura's apartment door and was greeted with a grumpy, "It's late, go home, we'll talk in the morning" he didn't expect the speech he'd prepared to fly out of his mind and have, "Y'know, they say home is where the heart is, and since you've kinda got mine…" come out instead.

_Confusion – 32 _

After the befuddled look left Sakura's face, it took up residence on Kakashi's when she grabbed him by the vest and dragged him into a kiss; all her earlier arguments—"It's late, go home, we'll talk in the morning"—out of her mind as she walked him backwards to her bed.

_Fear – 33 _

The morning after he finally got her in his bed, he woke up alone and terrified—until he heard the shower running in the bathroom and decided to join her.

_Lightning/Thunder – 34 _

Together, they are a storm; his chidori blazes while her chakra rents faults in the ground like thunder, and their children cry tears like rain after they are gone.

_Bonds – 35 _

"It's been three weeks and you still haven't gotten around to getting the ropes off the bed frame."

It's more enjoyable than either of them expects when Sakura has to tie Kakashi to the hospital bed to keep him there for treatment.

_Market – 36 _

He braves the market to find the perfect engagement ring.

_Technology – 37 _

Kakashi pouted when Sakura laughed at him because he didn't know how to work the demon she called a "microwave" but grinned when she saw how adorable his pout was.

_Gift – 38 _

He'd read somewhere that there were specific gifts for certain anniversaries; unfortunately, he couldn't remember where he'd read it or what it had said for the first.

_Smile – 39 _

Her smile is brightest when she's still in that hospital bed, holding her lover's hand while he cradles their newborn twin boys and their three-year-old daughter sits in her lap.

_Innocence – 40 _

He dredges up the tattered remnants of his own innocence to offer her in exchange for her own, even when he thinks (_knows_) he shouldn't have any left.

_Completion – 41 _

It's only when their children are gathered round them and their friends adorn their furniture, and everyone is laughing, talking and joking, that they are complete.

_Clouds – 42 _

"Cloud-watching, Kakashi—you're turning into Shikamaru," laughed Sakura, and the smile fell off her face when he retorted, "Nagging me about cloud-watching, Sakura—you're turning into Ino."

_Sky – 43 _

"Kakashi, the sky isn't falling, so calm down—it's just Ino and Shikamaru's wedding rehearsal."

_Heaven – 44 _

He was positive he was in heaven when—without permission from his brain—his hands moved to unzip her shirt, even though she was perfectly capable (even with her wrist in a brace) of undoing her own fastenings, and she let him.

_Hell – 45 _

He was positive he was going to hell when—without permission from his brain—his hands moved to unzip her shirt, even though she was perfectly capable (even with her wrist in a brace) of undoing her own fastenings.

_Sun – 46 _

She hasn't tried to sneak up on him in daylight in years; the glare from the sun off his silver hair blinds her and she got tired of leaping on empty air when he moved.

_Moon – 47 _

So instead, she waits until night and still ends up leaping on empty air when he moves; never knowing that he admires the way the moon washes her ethereal as he stands behind her.

_Waves – 48 _

He would never forget that faux-jutsu she tried to execute on him; it was too hilarious when he kicked up a wave of water to negate the dirt and she somehow ended up covered in mud—of course, the hilarity ended when he had to run for his life.

_Hair – 49 _

He prays that the gene for silver hair is dominant over the gene for pink hair when he finds out the baby is a boy.

_Supernova – 50 _

Her temper is still violent as a supernova, but his own temperament swallows up the violence like a black hole.

* * *

Well, guys, I'm back. I didn't win NaNo (or even hit the halfway mark of 25k, which became my abbreviated goal about a week before the thirtieth), although I _did _get a good start on a novel I've wanted to write for a while. I'll begin work on _The Promise_ shortly, so for now, sit tight and enjoy this little tidbit of KakaSaku goodness. In which they seem to be parents a lot.

Just in case you didn't catch these:

_Weakness - 16_ I kind of cheated on this one. The first sentence is Kakashi's feelings on the subject; the second is Sakura's response to him.

_Life - 21_ is inspired by a line in Mayet's _Kiss Me Goodnight_. If you want to read it, I say go for it. The beginning is a little angsty, but it gets better.

_Star - 30_ Sentence two is inspired by a line in ShishoLoveli's _Death Smiles Prettily_. Beautiful oneshot, very sad. (If I spelled her penname wrong, I'm sorry. Let me know and I'll fix it.)

_Home - 31_ and _Confusion - 32_ are connected.

_Innocence - 40_ is inspired by _The Price_ by tuathafaerie. Amazing oneshot, pretty lengthy but definitely worth reading.

_Heaven - 44_ and _Hell - 45_ are connected.

_Sun - 46_ and _Moon - 47_ are connected.

_Waves - 48_ is inspired by a scene in SilverShine's _Duty Before Honor_, among the first fanfiction (and the first KakaSaku) I ever read--that story is what got me addicted to KakaSaku.

I think that's all of them. If I missed any blatant ones, I'm sorry. I read a lot of fanfiction, so I pick up a lot of ideas. Let me know so I can fix it; I would never intentionally plagiarize someone else's work.

You might see some of them again later--particularly _Home_.

A small note about ownership: If Naruto was mine, I wouldn't be posting this at FanFiction, and the recent manga wouldn't be in existence. They'd better be stirring up emotions with this, or I swear--!! All of this adds up to Naruto = not mine.

Also, the words that spawned these, I copy-pasted from bones-angel's _Fragments_, so whichever livejournal thing did those, I didn't make them up.


	6. You Taste Better Than You Smell

Even mostly dead on her feet, Sakura felt the presence in her apartment. It was non-threatening for the most part; vaguely familiar, even, but she decided to warn it anyway.

"I really am a ninja," she muttered in its general direction. "If you attack me, I _will_ kill you."

It shifted, crinkling whatever-that-was on the chair it occupied but otherwise stayed silent.

Sakura kept trudging to her bedroom and fell face first onto her bed.

A few seconds later, it had come into her room. There was a deep inhalation and it murmured, "You smell good."

Sakura moaned, "Who are you and why are you sniffing me?"

"Aww, Sakura-chan, you mean you don't recognize me yet?" the voice said, sounding rather dejected.

"You're either Naruto or Kakashi-sensei," she mumbled. "Too tired. Go 'way."

And she fell into blissful blackness.

It sat, bemused, on her dresser, falling asleep itself until the sun rose. Then it woke and watched her until she decided to return to the living world.

Without opening her eyes, she gathered her chakra to her fingertips and announced, "I warned you last night, but since I'm not dead yet, I'll give you an opportunity—care to enlighten me?"

It stayed silent.

"Why'd you smell me?"

Still it didn't answer.

"Kakashi-sensei."

A twitch.

"Why did you break into my apartment, sniff me, lie to me about my smell, and stay in my room to watch me sleep?"

One green eye cracked open just barely and trained itself on him, still perched comfortably on her dresser across the room.

He finally deigned to answer.

"I came for treatment. There's a cut in my side." He paused. "And you do too smell good. Plus, it's cute when you snore."

He dodged the kunai she whipped out from under her pillow and lobbed at him.

Then Sakura sighed and sat up.

"C'mere, you pervert," she ordered. "You say cut; your intestines are probably hanging out. Lay down."

He stood by the bed obediently as she slid out of it, then lay on it himself.

She proceeded to straddle Kakashi's legs and strip him of his vest, shirt, undershirt and hitai-ate.

And punched him when the cut turned out to be an inch-long bruise just above his hip.

"Did you run into a doorknob, you moron?! This is barely purple!" she cried.

"Owww," he groaned.

"Go home," she growled pitilessly. "And if I catch you ogling me again, I'll gut you, got it?"

Before she could react—and much faster than a man who had been punched in the stomach should be allowed to be—Kakashi had sat up and attached his mouth to hers, plundering.

"You taste better than you smell," he murmured musingly.

Then he was gone.

* * *

I don't own Naruto.

I am looking for a beta, however, for something I've had going for about a year now. Any takers? PM me, please.


	7. I Think It's Because You Like Me

"Sakura, go away."

The words were not a request; there was no give in the tone. It was a direct order, but she ignored the command from her superior and sometimes-team leader.

"No," she said instead, plopping herself down in the booth and meeting Kakashi's one-eyed glare defiantly.

"Sakura, I wasn't asking."

"I know."

"Then why...?"

"Because it's two o'clock in the morning on the day after Christmas and you're sitting in a pub, alone but for a half-empty bottle of the strongest alcohol legally available in Konohagakure."

Kakashi just stared at her, torn between bemusement and offense. Settling for mildly amused irritation, he repeated, "Sakura, go away."

He received the same answer as the first time he'd said it: a defiant look and a simple "no."

"And before you ask why again," she added after a tense, silent moment, when it was clear he wasn't going to be speaking anyway, "I'm not negotiating. I think it's because you like me."

Kakashi froze, the wind knocked completely out of his lungs.

"I think," she continued blithely on, "you like that there's someone who can match you caustic witty retort for caustic witty retort. I think you like that there's someone to check you when all the power of your status goes to your head - that there's someone whose threats can be backed up. I think you like that there's someone you can't run from and that there's someone you can't drive away no matter how hard you try." Sakura began to smirk. "And because I think you like watching my mouth move while I talk." The smirk grew into a full-out coy grin.

"But mostly, I think it's just because you like me. Yes, in _that way_ that made you turn into stone just a minute ago."

--

"Yep," Ino crowed to Hinata, Genma, Naruto, and Sai behind her. "It's because he likes her."

* * *

Merry belated Christmas! I really did start writing this on the twenty-sixth (coincidentally [or not] at two in the morning), which is when it takes place--two A.M. December 26.

Naruto is not mine.


	8. Shirt

Take a look at the URL in case you've forgotten where you are.

* * *

"Shiranui! Finally! I've been looking all over for you!" Sakura cried, elated that she had finally found the idiot as she lounged against his open front door. "I thought I was going to have to go door-to-door, asking all the women if you were in their shower."

"Haruno," Genma answered, leering.

"You'd better be doing that out of habit, Genma, or so help me…" she threatened. Then she noticed that his apartment was torn to shreds. "Looking for something?" she asked.

"Yeah," he retorted. "A good time. Interested?"

"No," Sakura said flatly. "But really, are you looking for something?"

"Actually, yes," said Genma, sobering. "My favorite shirt. I was going to wear it tonight…but it's not where it should be."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would it happen to look like…this?" Sakura held up a casual shirt, neatly folded and pressed. Beneath it was a pair of dark pants and shoes.

"Yes!!" Genma shrieked. He was beyond overjoyed. "How—where—"

Sakura fought her laughter. "You remember that party I had a couple weeks ago?"

"The one where I almost got you to kiss me? Yeah, I remember. What's it got to do with my shirt, though?"

"No. The one where you got completely hammered and decided to do a strip-tease and the only reason your underwear stayed on was because your flavor of the week convinced you that you were in a room full of men. And then you thought it'd be fun to run around outside—completely naked, because you left your boxers on my doorstep—and she had to follow you. You never came back that night," she added, musing.

Genma winced a little; the girl had been overly clingy the next morning. But overall… "Yeah," he sighed. "That was a _fun_ night."

"Well, the morning after, I got called away on a mission, and I wasn't able to clean my apartment right away," Sakura continued. "I just got back a few days ago, but I crashed and slept and haven't done a damn thing until this morning, which is when I found your clothes and washed them. I burned your boxers, though. I was _not_ about to touch those."

"So…" Genma said, smirking around his bobbing senbon. "May I take you to dinner to repay you for your kindness?"

"No, I've got a date tonight."

"Wait too long, and all the good ones get taken," said a smooth voice from the shadowy recesses of the stairwell.

"Hatake?"

"The one and the only," Kakashi replied, smirking as he moved forward to grip Sakura around the waist.

"Wha—how—huh?" Genma stuttered.

"He stayed awake after everyone else passed out. He was also the only left sober with me."

"There wasn't a stupid pick-up line," Kakashi remarked. "But there was sex."

"Ah, yes," Sakura sighed. Kakashi planted a kiss on her neck.

"Go. Away."

"Aww, Genma's jealous," Sakura crooned. "Let's go, Kakashi."

The couple turned away and left Genma to a shredded apartment, unpleasant images in his mind about the couple, and his favorite civilian outfit.

"Oh! I think Ino is looking for a date!" the pink-haired medic called over her shoulder, and giggled as Kakashi muttered something to her.

_I'll be taking her up on that,_ Genma told himself, rushing to the shower.

* * *

Random drabble I came across while I was going through my files. I'd almost forgotten about it. I don't like it much, but I hope you did. Thanks for reading.


	9. Siren

[disclaimer] Check the URL if you've forgotten where you are.

* * *

Kakashi barged into Sakura's apartment, a brown paper bag containing several... fun... items tucked into the crook if his arm. After quickly checking the residence for her, he proceeded to set up her kitchen and bedroom to his specifications.

Precisely on schedule, meticulous as always, she waltzed in the door - and froze.

"Sensei," she called hesitantly.

_Ah, so she's detected my chakra. Good girl._

He didn't answer, though, needing to hold back giggles when she pulled out a weapon and began to search her home for him.

She stopped dead at the entrance to the kitchen. He knew she'd spotted the first part of his surprise.

"...the hell?" she muttered.

He heard Sakura picking up the container.

Her stomping footfalls made Kakashi rethink attaching himself, but he knew he could easily escape if it became necessary.

Or he could simply dodge the whipped cream hurled full-force at his head.

That was before she realized his state of dress - or undress - as the case appeared to be.

"Oh, my, Sakura-chan," he murmured, in his best seductress voice, with his best come-hither-bedroom eyes. "I seem to have lost my clothes and handcuffed myself to your bed, completely by accident... could you maybe... help me?"

Her face was beet red. She came at him with a kunai aimed directly at his -

"Now, now, Sakura-chan," he chided, behind her before she could blink. "Play nicely." His arm wrapped around her middle, tugging her flush against him. "I need that for my plans."

"P-plans?" she stuttered.

His amusement rumbled through his chest.

"Plans," he confirmed, releasing her to retrieve the wayward container of whipped cream.

"You, me, whipped cream, and handcuffs. Any questions?"

* * *

Erm...so, yeah. It's not great, but I, at least, find it amusing. Credit for the last line - 'You, me, whipped cream and handcuffs' - goes to a piece of Facebook flair. The idea for the 'seductress Kakashi breaking into Sakura's apartment' goes to... uhm... not me. I actually can't remember the name of the brilliantly talented author who has published something similar to this, near Christmas. I just tried finding it and got distracted by all the awesome fanfiction out there. If anyone knows what story I'm talking about, tell me, so I can delete this long-ass author's note and post just the title and author. Thanks.

Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.


	10. And So It Goes

Written for yamikinoko over at LJ as a Christmas gift. She requested _Kakashi/TenTen, Neji/TenTen, or Shikamaru/TenTen _ and _something warm._ Also, I do not own Naruto, nor do I claim any rights or make any money by writing this fanfic. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas.

* * *

Hyuuga Neji is Tenten's first serious boyfriend.

She's had flings and young-experiment-toe-dipping boyfriends, but none of them came close to being a real relationship. That's okay by her; she only wants to dabble and learn.

She just sort of watches Neji unfold before her, and she's happy that he does. She's had a crush on him since their Academy days. He's as stuffy and uptight as he always is, at first. Eventually, Tenten gets him to loosen up, at least around her. It isn't something anyone else would be able to see, except maybe Hinata-chan, who knows him almost better than he knows himself, or Gai-sensei and Lee-kun, but he puts on his façade for them as well. It's the gentler tone he uses when he's with her, a hand on her waist when no one is looking. He even steals a kiss or ten on late-night walks sometimes.

They make love for the first time six months after their first date. Neji fumbles his way around her body, and she finds it cute, except when his fingernails scrape across her nipples too roughly and leave marks. He kisses them tenderly to make up for it, and the pressure when he tries to fit himself inside her is uncomfortable, but he tries to look to her needs before he comes, but like all men during their first time, he can't.

She teaches him her body patiently, and the first time he makes her come, she drifts back to Earth and finds herself in his arms. He looks proud, and she longs to both kiss and slap the expression away.

She sees him smile for the first time when he catches her a goldfish at the cherry blossom viewing festival the next week. It's a strange thing to smile over, but there it is. His lips turn up and his face seems ready to crack under some foreign new strain, and it is in that exact moment that Tenten realizes two things, both of which break her heart.

The first is that she loves Neji, with all her heart and with all her might.

The second is that she needs to break up with him.

So she kisses his cheek and she does.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi is Tenten's first one-night stand.

Tenten isn't sure how it happens. No, scratch that. She knows _how_. What she can't explain is _why_.

She's newly free of her long-term relationship with Neji and just kind of lingering on the edge of the dance floor, watching the girls—Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and the adopted Moegi, Sakura's own apprentice—dance, sway, or drink. And she's quite happy doing that, because as graceful as she is with a kunai in her hand or senbon in her fingers on a battlefield, she looks like a bull elephant when music plays.

Then Kakashi-sempai sidles up next to her, apparently not realizing who she is—unsurprising, she looks like a _girl_ with her hair down, wearing a light dress and makeup and no hitai-ate in sight. He begins chatting with her, about things like weapons, techniques, stances, and what kind of oil do you use on your blades, I've had to start looking for a new brand since my favorite was discontinued?

So maybe he _does_ know who she is, but that just-this-side of too-charming grin spells out his intentions anyway.

She rises to the challenge, leaning just a little closer, shuffling into his personal bubble, flirting lightly in return. She knows what's going to happen, even though she's never done it before, and anxiety rises in her gut. But she doesn't protest when he lays a hand on the small of her back and dips his head to whisper in her ear.

_Let's go somewhere a little more… private._

He offers her a drink when they reach his apartment, but she declines to walk up to him boldly, sliding her hands over her own breasts over her clothes. She tells him she knows why he brought her here, and that she'll abide by all the rules she knows, and then she kisses him.

Kakashi has had decades of practice and plenty of opportunities to perfect the art of kissing. Tenten has had a handful of inexperienced teenaged boys to paw at her, and Neji, carefully trained by her unskilled hand.

She finds she much prefers Kakashi's lips moving with such devastating precision over hers. He ignites lust deep in her belly with his tongue against hers, stoking it with deliberate care for a long, long time before he ever makes another move. His hands roam over her—there is no place he does not touch.

When he finally leads her to his bed, they are both naked and she has no memory of either of them removing clothing. He tumbles gracefully to the mattress with her and presses inside her. He moves easily; she reciprocates without inhibitions. She makes noises she has never heard herself make before, and some she has, but they are much louder now than ever before.

She comes, and it's the best orgasm she's ever had. She lies in his bed, panting, with him crumpled beside her at a distance. Tenten makes like she's going to stand to leave, but Kakashi tugs her back with promises of more.

_The night isn't over, Tenten-chan._

Silently, she thanks him.

* * *

Nara Shikamaru is quite possibly literally the _last_ person in any world Tenten thought she would end up with.

It happens so slowly that she doesn't realize it until it's over and she's as comfortable with him as she is on her own.

It's during the war. Normal teams are disbanded, the members reassigned. She is put on a five-man squad with Kiba, Sakura, and Lee under Shikamaru's command as a roving strike team on the border of Fire Country.

They are all competent fighters, but they have each been selected for their other talent and skill sets. They work wonders as a cohesive unit, until the raids on Konoha start and all but a handful of medics are recalled to the village to care for the forces there. Sakura is not one of the medics are allowed to stay.

Kiba is ordered back next. The raids have increased in frequency and intensity, and every tracking method has failed to find whoever is behind them. Kiba is the Inuzuka's prodigy, the sharpest nose to ever come from the clan, and within three weeks, he leads them to the central camp of the guerillas. The worst of the raids end.

Lee is the next to go. Tsunade wants him to stand beside Gai on the battlefield. Neither Gai nor Lee have the sharpest minds, though they are extremely intelligent, but they are incredibly strong, and she needs that elsewhere—the majority of the fighting is going on at the Iwa border.

So it just Shikamaru and Tenten, a two-man team now. It's common practice among Konoha shinobi to spend time with a partner or one's teammates, to create bonds that will strengthen and synch squads. This is why Tenten finds herself so often in Shikamaru's tent. They rarely talk, but they spar against each other when there are no enemy ninja threatening to kill them.

Their styles complement each other in a strange way. The Nara clan's shadow master techniques immobilize the enemy, Tenten's weapons end lives.

It isn't much of a surprise when they sleep together. The need to affirm their lives after taking someone else's, after seeing so many comrades fall runs high and strong between them. Shikamaru is a good lover. He has a talented tongue, often using that gift to its greatest advantage. It happens nearly every night, and Tenten has given up the pretense of setting up her own tent at night in favor of Shikamaru's.

Then the war is over, and they go back to Konoha. Nothing changes. Tenten still finds herself in Shikamaru's presence more often than she isn't, and warming his bed more often than her own. Bonds forged during times of war last, she finds.

The lease comes up on her apartment, and Tenten lets it lapse. She packs up what little she owns that isn't already at her lover's home and announces that she's a permanent fixture in his life.

He doesn't say a word.


	11. Sweeten the Pot

katzenherrin over at LJ requested "Kakashi/Sakura...strip poker. Kakashi with Icha Icha boxers (and his mask) and Sakura with cherry patterned panties (and her braw) She wins the next hand. He decides to take off the least probable piece of clothing...Humour. Implied Smut..."

Um. Poker turned into blackjack. "Why?" I can hear you asking. Well, I don't know how to play poker. But I do know how to play blackjack. That's pretty much the only difference I made. Merry Christmas!

* * *

"Hit me." The words were distracted as Kakashi groped across the table blindly for a shot glass full of an amber-colored liquid. It was the only alcohol Sakura had in her home, and the label had been ripped off. Sakura didn't remember buying it, and neither of them was a connoisseur of alcohol. They had no idea what it was, and they didn't care. All that mattered was that it burned like fire on the way down and that it kept them drunk. The drink settled in his stomach with heady warmth as the pink-haired woman across from him dealt another card.

A two. That brought him up to nineteen.

That should be safe enough—if Sakura had a good hand, she wouldn't be able to hide it. Her poker face was worse than Tsunade's. Shit, his memory was worse than Tsunade's poker face. How in the hell had he ended up completely shirtless in Sakura's apartment, playing blackjack with his pants at stake?

Sakura dealt herself another card, and then looked expectantly up at Kakashi. He watched her expression carefully.

"I'll stay," he said.

"Then show 'em," Sakura ordered. She flipped her hidden cards over in the same moment he did. He saw a ten, a four, and a six. On Sakura's side.

Sakura had twenty. His pants had to come off. Thank God he'd put on clean boxers that morning. Thank God he'd _put on_ boxers that morning. They were a brilliant orange color and covered with slashed red circles and the characters from Icha Icha, but they were boxers.

"Well, sensei," Sakura slurred. "Off with somethin'."

Dizzily, Kakashi stood and hooked his fingers into the waistband of his heavy black pants. They came off easily, since his shoes were buried under his weapons pouches, which were already in the pile on the table.

Sakura let out a wolf whistle and laughed raucously. Kakashi was tempted to turn around and swivel his hips, but even drunk off his ass, his dignity wouldn't allow it. He smiled demurely under his mask and set his pants on the table. He had only his boxers and mask left to him.

His opponent had one elbow wrap, her shirt, and her skirt left. His grin turned sly as Sakura shuffled the cards and dealt a new hand.

Before him sat an ace and a queen. How lucky.

"Blackjack," he declared, laying out his hand. Sakura scowled at him in a way he suspected was supposed to be fierce, although it looked funnier to him than menacing, and she stripped off her elbow wrap without the flamboyance of her earlier removals.

She picked up the cards and began to shuffle the deck again. "Would you like to cut it?" she offered sweetly.

"No," he answered, reaching for the bottle and gracelessly refilling both their shot glasses. She put the cards aside and picked it up.

"To blackjack," she announced, after a moment of thinking. Then she tapped the glass on the table and swallowed the booze down in one gulp.

"Why do you always do that?" he asked. It was a question he'd wanted to ask for years—ever since the first time they'd had shots together.

"Hm? Oh, you mean the toasting and the tapping," Sakura mumbled. "I dunno, really. Jus' the way m' dad taught me."

"Huh," he said.

"Why?" she questioned. Her expression turned teasing. "Were you expecting some sort of meaningful story behind that?" Sakura laughed, a pleasant sound at the worst of times. Being drunk was definitely _not_ the worst of times, but Kakashi didn't appreciate being laughed at.

"Shut up and deal," he growled. He was cold, drunk, and for some reason, he wanted to kiss Sakura. But then, he always wanted to kiss Sakura.

She shuffled the cards one more time while he downed his shot, and threw the cards down. He ended up with a pair of twos.

"Hit me," he said flatly. A seven. That brought him up to eleven. Sakura drew a card for herself and looked at him, eyebrows raised. He rapped a finger against the table. A nine. Sakura drew another card and they showed their hands.

"Nineteen."

"Twenty."

Sakura swore violently and shimmied out of her skirt. It joined the pile and she dealt another round. Kakashi won again, and Sakura stood to remove her top, treating him to a lovely view of her panties and, after her shirt was off, her bra.

They were pink cotton, patterned with cherries and trimmed with narrow red cotton lace. They were ridiculously girly and _cute_ and they made Kakashi's mouth water. The perfectly rounded tops of her breasts peeked over the cups of her bra tantalizingly, and all he could see was an expanse of creamy pale skin and glorious curves over taut muscle, broken up by those _panties._

Sakura plopped inelegantly back into her chair, sitting sideways with her legs crossed. She absentmindedly bounced her foot as she shuffled and dealt the cards.

A seven and an eight, for fifteen. Sakura took a moment to study her cards, looking thoughtful. When she finally glanced up at him, her brow was smooth.

"Hit me," and he caught the card quickly. A three, for eighteen, and watched Sakura carefully as she claimed another card. Her expression didn't change.

"Twenty-one," she declared.

What the hell? Only years of strict training kept his jaw from dropping or his eyes from widening. His mind stuck, though, and he froze for too long, because Sakura grinned like a maniac and said in her best commanding voice, "You have to take something off, sensei. That's pretty much the only rule of strip blackjack."

His brain stuttered. Why had he agreed to play strip _anything?_ Especially with this girl. What was wrong with him?

Sakura was getting impatient. "Sensei," she said sternly. "If you don't take something off in the next five seconds, I will remove it for you."

Kakashi couldn't help himself. "Promise?" he purred.

Then he got to watch as a vein throbbed in Sakura's forehead. "Sensei," she said warningly. "Five."

He stood up.

"Four."

He couldn't help himself.

"Three."

His hand started at the middle of his chest, trailing down, slowly.

"Two."

His fingers landed on his waistband and began to tug them along.

"One."

Kakashi was gratified to see that Sakura's stunning sea foam green eyes couldn't stay away from his rapidly lowering boxers—or, to be more accurate, the skin being revealed by his rapidly lowering boxers.

She stood suddenly, her whole face blooming as red as the cherries on her underwear, and began to study the cupboards behind her. He hadn't even uncovered the good stuff yet, but obviously the subtle striptease was over, so he just dropped his boxers to the floor and then picked them up and set them on the pile.

To be contrary, Kakashi cocked his hip and leaned against the table. "Sakura, you have to turn around," he called enticingly. "We have to play until one of us is completely naked to win the pot, remember?"

"Of course I remember," she snapped, still, for all intents and purposes, scrutinizing her cabinet door. "It was my rule."

"Then come back to the table and play," he tempted.

"Not until you put it—the pe—your co—_that_—away," she stuttered. He saw her wave one arm in a gesture. "Sit down, or something. I don't want to see it in my kitchen. Honestly, you'd rather show me your penis than your face. What's wrong with you?" She seemed to be building up to a full-blown Rant, so Kakashi tried to divert her attention to something else.

"All you have to do is win one more round to see my face," he reminded. Her shoulders lifted and her back straightened. She spun to face him reluctantly, but he could see that her face was bright; she seemed to be suppressing a wide, luminous grin. Even more, she tried valiantly to keep her eyes trained on his, but he watched with amusement as they dropped steadily lower, until they reached the _'that,'_ as Sakura had referred to it. He wasn't the biggest, but he was generously proportioned, and he definitely knew how to use it.

The sea foam green of her irises darkened into a stormier shade, and she seemed to fall naturally into a willing-to-be-seduced pose without thought.

_Well, hell,_ Kakashi thought, _if I'm a-goin' anyway, might as well enjoy the ride._

"We finish the game," he announced. "But let's say we sweeten the pot."

"Sweeten how?" Now Sakura seemed a little wary.

"Winner gets the pot, and three kisses," he said brazenly. "They choose when the kisses will take place and where they want to be kissed."

"Fine," she agreed. "Sit down and let's play."

She shuffled and dealt. Kakashi won immediately with an ace and a ten, and thoroughly enjoyed the short show when Sakura reached behind her back to undo the hooks of her bra. She caught him watching shamelessly and slowed down, trailing her fingertips against her upper arms and dangling the garment from one finger teasingly. She tried to hide her breasts behind one arm, but had to give up when she realized Kakashi wasn't going to deal the last hand.

He ogled. He couldn't help it. Her breasts were beautiful. High and round and sizable, they had dusky pink nipples the same color as her lips, and they jiggled just so when she tossed the cards out. He wanted to find out what they felt like under his hands. In the slight chill of the room, her nipples stiffened just a little. Beneath the table, he could feel his penis doing the same.

He sat as patiently as he could while Sakura went through the motions of being the dealer, until finally she laid her hand out with a triumphant cry of, "Twenty-one!"

That definitely beat his twenty. He had no choice. He peeled his mask off, starting at the bottom and watched as Sakura eagerly drank in the sight of his face slowly being revealed. As the fabric passed over his eyes, Kakashi was momentarily rendered blind. He barely heard the chair scraping, and then his mouth was occupied with another. He ripped the nylon over his head and reached with his empty hand to push Sakura away by the shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Claiming my pot," she said without hesitation. "Right now, my lips."

Who was he to argue with a gorgeous, mostly naked drunk girl? One kiss melted into another, and Kakashi didn't even care when she directed his mouth to her neck and then her breast to claim the other two. He certainly didn't mind when she led him by the hand to her bedroom.

_Sweeten the pot, indeed,_ he thought to himself.


	12. This Is What You Get

This Is What You Get (For Forgetting Your Pervy Boyfriend's Birthday)

For superduperotaku (or J-Pop Princess, as she is known on FF . net), who asked for "Sakura giving a hot sexy striptease with bountiful smut after, but if mega graphic stuff is too much, that's okay too." I wrote KakaSaku because I'm not comfortable (as in, no practice) writing either of the other two. I would have added them here, except I'm not comfortable (as in, awkwardness) writing group sex. I hope you enjoy it, m'dear! Extremely belated holiday wishes and apologies for the tardiness.

* * *

The song started off slowly, with just a bass thumping lowly, followed by a drum, and lastly a sultry female voice singing in a language she knew Kakashi didn't understand. He didn't seem to care very much, though, as Sakura awkwardly began to sway in time to the beat.

She closed her eyes, feeling her hair tickling her lower back through her shirt. Butterflies ran rampant through her stomach as she teased her shirt's hem between the tips of her fingers.

She never done a striptease before, but she'd forgotten Kakashi's birthday was coming up in a mad week of classes, and then she'd been away at a hospital on it, finalizing details for her residency that day. He'd been pouting about it when she got home, so she'd foolishly made up a "coupon" promising to do one activity a week for four weeks.

Sakura had figured he'd interpret that as 'I can get her to do four chores I don't want to' and that she'd be doing something like washing his dogs (he had _eight _of them!), or doing his laundry (he would rather buy new clothes than wash some), or running errands (like picking up his porn, or maybe dry cleaning), but no. Her pervy lover had demanded a lap dance. The first week. She almost dreaded the next three "activities."

"Sakura," Kakashi called. "You have to actually dance to do this."

She opened her eyes to level her most ferocious glare at him. He seemed unimpressed, impassive as he always was, slouched in the cheap metal chair in her dorm room at Konoha's Medical University. To be contrary, she cocked her hip and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have even the slightest idea how fucking _sexy _you are when you do that?" he growled. His eyes held a devious glint.

Sakura blushed hotly. Her shoulders dropped and she glanced away, a shy and slightly embarrassed young medical student once more.

"Sakura-chan," Kakashi sighed. "Why do you do that? You're the most beautiful woman I know. You have no reason to be shy about yourself."

She closed her eyes again, ruthlessly stomping on the butterflies in her stomach and said, "Start the song over." She heard the creak and shuffling steps as he got up and walked over to the stereo to press the back button. The bass started up again and this time Sakura was ready. She drew on the handful of ballet lessons her mother had forced her to as a child, calling on the small amount of grace they'd taught her as she rotated one hip slowly in a circle.

Her eyes still closed, Sakura ran her fingertips up her own ribs, neck, and along her jaw line to bury her hands in her hair. The music's beat picked up, and her hips began to sway from side to side of their own volition. She felt herself growing bolder. One hand left her hair, sweeping down her torso to her shirt hem. She toyed with it for a moment, trailing it upward to reveal a glimpse of her taut abdomen before it slipped back down.

Her other hand was subtler in its movements, sneaking down her throat again, brushing over her collarbone to caress a covered nipple. She had to admit, this was _fun_. One corner of her mouth quirked up in a half-smile, and she opened her eyes.

Kakashi was still slouched in that chair, but his eyes were on her, roving, taking in every detail. He seemed to be watching the more obvious action at her waistline, but Sakura saw when his gaze lifted to her chest. His dark eyes hooded.

Her smile turned into a smirk. What else could she get him to do?

Sakura lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it to the side, leaving only her thin black bra between her breasts and open air. Her shoulders moved in tandem with her hips, her hands fell gracefully back down to her sides. She let her hands roam all over her own body, and all the while Kakashi watched hungrily.

Sakura stepped closer to him. He started to reach out a hand as if to touch her, but she slapped it away lightly. "No touching the dancers, sir," she admonished in a playful tone. She unbuttoned her pants, and slid them off, slowly. She kept her gaze sharp on her lover-his expression was incredibly empowering.

Inch by inch, the creamy skin of her legs was revealed. When she finally kicked the jeans away completely, she was left in plain black cotton panties and the bra that didn't quite match them, but Kakashi's lusty stare on her said that they were the finest lingerie he'd ever seen. It was like he had no control over his limbs-his hand was crawling through the air toward her again.

"No touching the dancers," she repeated more firmly. Then, simply to tease him, she straddled his lap, and all of a sudden she was cradling his erection between her thighs.

"Do I have to pay extra for the lap dance?" Kakashi asked jokingly. But she could hear how thick his voice was under the light tone.

"Only if you're a bad boy," Sakura purred, grinding her hips downwards lightly. Rewarded with a deep rumble in his chest, she smirked.

Supporting her weight with her legs, she lifted herself just slightly off his lap and arched backwards, slowly stroking light hands down her chest and stomach. Her nipples were hard, excitement building already in the pit of her being. He was all but inside her, and she realized she had to regain some distance or she'd rip his pants open and start riding him for real right in this rickety old chair.

Kakashi groaned unhappily when Sakura slid her rear off his legs and coyly backed up a couple steps. To soothe his ache, she reached behind her back and undid the hooks of her bra. Ever so slowly, one strap slid off her shoulder, chased quickly after by the other. She tossed the garment out of the way, wiggled her panties down to her knees and let them drop to the floor. Then she sashayed around him.

Once at his back, Sakura leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Kakashi's shoulders and pressing her breasts against the back of his head. She slid one small hand down his chest this time, caressing his erection with light touches that wouldn't satisfy. Her breath was at his ear, her own ear right at his throat, and she heard a quiet, gratifying whine.

"Am I being mean to you?" she murmured, her voice low and husky. "Do you want me to…take care of it for you?"

"Sakura," Kakashi groaned. His hips bucked up, trying to force contact with her hand.

She tsked at him. "Don't be so eager, my love," she whispered. "Let it happen in due time." Sakura chuckled throatily, her eyes sliding half-closed. That was when Kakashi struck, snapping his head around and latching onto her lips. The sneaky bastard used her surprised gasp to penetrate her mouth, drawing her tongue into play, and she was lost. Something about Kakashi's kisses was addicting to Sakura, and the fact that she was already incredibly turned on wasn't helping. Her brain turned off.

"Come and sit on my lap again, Sakura," he coaxed. And just like that, she went. The chair wasn't big enough for her to perch on her knees, so her legs had to stick out.

She didn't care.

The moment she settled against him, he grasped her hips and shoved them harshly against his as he ground his erection against her core. He did it again, and again, over and over, keeping his mouth moving over hers to whip her into a frenzy. Sakura's fingers threaded through his hair or clawed at his shoulders and chest frantically. Any sounds she made were swallowed by Kakashi's fervent kisses.

The pleasure spiked higher. Her moans turned into cries, and her sheath clenched around air, desperate to be filled. But Kakashi simply kept grinding her center over his cock, until ecstasy roared through her. She broke away from his kiss, throwing her head back. Her mouth was open in a silent cry.

"Fuck, Sakura," Kakashi grunted, but she only dimly heard it. Her inner muscles were still fluttering delicately- her sex still quivering in the aftermath of orgasm and still very sensitive- when he unfastened his pants and shoved himself inside her. She let out a loud gasp. She was still slick with fluid from her orgasm, allowing him to move easily.

They were both incredibly desperate for the friction their bodies created together, and the pace Kakashi set was demanding. The loud, wet slapping of flesh meeting flesh was drowned out by their moans and cries. Pleasure built inside her again, sending her up and up and up erratically until she hit her second peak with a wild cry. Moments later, she felt the wet warmth of Kakashi's release inside her.

Panting for breath, Sakura sagged against his chest, tucking her head under his chin and peppering his throat with kisses. He was covered in a light sweat, but she didn't mind.

"Thank you, Sakura," he finally said. "That was…" he trailed off. Apparently his brain hadn't fully re-engaged, if he couldn't think up any adjectives for what they'd just done.

"Yes," she hummed. "It was. I think I might do it again sometime…"

And she could practically _feel_ him perk up at that, and she had to laugh at her adorably perverted lover.


	13. One Cup of Coffee Is Not Enough For This

For eldrfire, who requested, very simply, "KakaMei, Holiday Customs, any genre you want" which left me with a scary amount of freedom. I hope you don't mind AU, eldr, because canon wasn't working the way I wanted it to (but I did try, so maybe someday I can get it out). Also, I had to fill in a lot of blanks in Mei's life, because I'm not even sure the family name I'm using is hers and all I know is she's Mizukage and uses ice attacks (against Sasuke). So I invented family. And why yes, I _was_ reading House of Crows while I was writing this, so if names look familiar...they are. I had no internet to look up other names. I hope you like it. Merry belated Christmas and Happy belated New Year.

* * *

"Kakashi!" Mei's crisp voice rang through his cramped apartment as she let herself in. Under normal circumstances, hearing his girlfriend calling his name made him smile. Today, all it did was make him groan in despair.

Because today was the day he was going to meet her family. He sucked at meeting families. Rarely did he make a good first impression, due to his reticent nature and dry sense of humor. People thought he was stuck-up and rude.

Usually, he broke off relationships before they got serious enough to want to bring him home. Mei, however, had refused to be tossed aside and he, being a softhearted idiot despite it all, had fallen for her. He didn't regret it, except sometimes when he did. Like now.

"Wake up, Kakashi!" Mei told him, and her voice came from the kitchen, along with the sound of his sink running and the faint creak of the coffee cabinet's door. Was she making coffee? She hated coffee. "We have to get going soon."

Perhaps he could lie and say Tsunade wanted him at the precinct? It wouldn't hurt to try…

Kakashi dragged himself out of his cozy bed and used the wall to prop himself up as he stumbled to his living room. Across the counter, he could see Mei fiddling with the coffeemaker. "Damn thing," she muttered, thumping it back down on the counter with a distasteful look. "Tea's better anyway."

"Mei," he started, making his tone apologetic and giving her his best sorrowful, puppy-eyed look. "I'm sorry, but Tsunade called before you got here. She needs me to come into work today."

Mei fixed him with her most spectacularly terrifying 'I-know-you're-lying-to-me' look and then said in a small, hurt voice, "Do I really mean so little to you that you'd rather lie to my face than meet my family?"

Ah, the guilt trip. She didn't use it often, but it was 100% effective every time. Duly shamed, Kakashi hung his head. "I'm sorry, Mei," he mumbled to the floor.

"Good," she declared smugly. "Because I called Tsunade last night anyway to double-check that she knew you were unavailable today." Kakashi's head snapped up in shock. "Now go take a shower and get dressed. Maybe by the time you're done, I'll have figured out this demon." She flicked a perfectly manicured blue fingernail against his coffeemaker.

Briefly, he thought of arguing, but then his better sense kicked in. Mei didn't rage like most of the women he was familiar with. He wouldn't get a violent squabble that would be over in a few minutes and quickly be forgotten. Mei would ignore his indignation and quietly plot revenge, because her temper was icy and long-lasting and you almost never knew she was mad at you until she struck. Besides, meeting her family would have to happen eventually, especially since he planned on sticking around for her. So he quietly turned around, gathered his shower things, and got ready to leave.

Mei managed to brew a pot of coffee while he was in the shower and even fixed him a travel mug of it before she herded him out to her car. He sipped it. Enough sugar to take off the bitter edge and enough creamer to turn it beige. Perfect.

The ride across the city to the Water District where Mei lived and worked as captain of the police precinct was filled with the sounds of classical music. Kakashi suspected it was to calm his nerves and prevent him from fleeing at one of the red lights. Eventually, Mei drove into the upscale part of the district and pulled into a long driveway lined with dormant flowerbeds and dead grass. Kakashi took in every detail as his girlfriend parked the car and turned to him.

"Be good," she warned. She hesitated for a moment, and then said in a rush, "Dad's a stickler for manners. Compliment my mother's cooking no matter how awful it is and let my brothers play one practical joke on you before you turn the tables. They'll never respect you otherwise. Kaoru, Fumio's wife, is a total sweetheart, but super shy. She probably won't even talk to you but don't ignore her if she does. Ayame is Daisuke's wife and she'll want to be treated like one of the guys. I love my sister, but she's a snobby, pretentious bitch and her husband is an outright asshole. Avoid them unless you want to be sucked into a discussion about baroque literature or some crap where they still find room to insult you every other sentence. They look down on police officers because they think we're 'brutish, uncultured swine.'"

The way she said that last bit suggested that she was using a direct quote.

"I remember," Kakashi sighed lightly. "You've been prepping me for this since October."

"I know," Mei fretted. "I'm just anxious." She gave him a peck on the cheek and added, "My nieces and nephews will love you, just play with them and don't talk down to them."

"I know, Mei-chan," Kakashi said. "Can we just go in already?"

"Yes," she said, but she made no move to get out of the car. That was when Kakashi realized that, as much as he didn't want to be here, and as nervous as he was about meeting these people, Mei was just as worried. The man she loved was meeting the people she'd grown up with. If he made a bad impression, it would reflect poorly on her. And Mei was terrible at hiding her anxieties. Kakashi would have to be the strong one here. Kakashi would have to pry Mei's white-knuckled fingers off the steering wheel.

"Come on," he said.

"What if they don't like you?" she whispered.

"Then they don't like me and we'll have wasted a trip," Kakashi answered drolly. "But we'll never find out if they do or don't unless we go inside. And you've turned the car off so there's no heat and I'm starting to lose feeling in my toes. Shall we?" He gallantly offered her his hand before remembering they were in a vehicle. So he hurried around to open the door and help her out of the car.

"This why I love you," Mei breathed, leaning against him.

"Because I'm charming and considerate?" he asked flippantly.

"Because you cut straight to the heart of the matter," she corrected. "It's nice." She led him up the flagstone path to the front of the house and opened the door without knocking. Kakashi caught a glimpse of a room packed full of people-far more than the handful of immediate family he'd expected from Mei's brief description of her relatives-before a tall, slender woman who looked almost exactly like Mei blocked his line of sight.

"Damn," Mei muttered. "I was hoping she'd be in another room."

"You know the tradition, Mei-chan," the woman chided, though her tone was playful. "You have to."

"What tradition?" Kakashi asked, wondering if he should be worried. He followed the line of Mei's finger as it jabbed upward, although she stared dejectedly at the floor. A little plant… what was the point of that?

"It's mistletoe," Mei explained dully. "You have to kiss whoever you stand under it with. It's a tradition my parents started when they got married."

Kakashi didn't see the problem. "I don't see the problem."

"I wouldn't mind kissing you," she said furtively, "except that that's my mother and where my mother is, my father isn't far away. I don't want them to watch. Kissing you is private. And my father is a stickler for manners, remember."

"Oh, come on," Mei's mother said. "Your father understands romance! Just kiss the man so you can come in and close the door. We aren't paying to heat the outside, you know."

Mei wasn't making any moves to do as her mother wanted, so Kakashi turned her by the shoulders, lifted her chin in the palm of his hand and brushed his lips lightly over her forehead.

"Will that do, Terumi-san?" he inquired politely of Mei's mother.

The woman gave him a sly, calculating look before she beamed warmly at him. It was disconcerting to watch the shifts in her expression. "It isn't exactly what I expected," she started, "but I suppose it'll be alright."

A tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired man stepped up behind Mei's mother with two steaming mugs in his hands. He was wearing a bright grin, and he passed Kakashi and Mei a mug each. "Eggnog," he said in a conspiratorial tone, like the contents of the mug was top-secret information.

"Hello, Daddy," Mei said, and it seemed she had perked up.

"Hey, there, darling," the man said. "And who is this fine young man?" He was clearly asking the question of Kakashi, though his gaze never left his daughter's face.

"Hatake Kakashi, sir," Kakashi offered, holding the mug in one hand and sticking out his other to shake.

The man accepted it, and Kakashi gave a firm squeeze. "Terumi Seiji," the man said pleasantly. "You can call me Seiji, and since I doubt my wife gave you her name, you may as well call her 'airhead,'" he added jokingly.

"Seiji!" the woman cried, slapping at his arm playfully. "I'm Himeka," she told Kakashi. "You can call me Mom." It looked as if she wanted to say more, but a mob was suddenly descending on them.

"Hey, everybody! The Mizukage's here!" someone shouted, plopping a hand on Mei's head to muss her hair.

"Fumio, I told you not to call me that!" Mei said back, aiming her fist at the man's stomach. He jumped out of the way, but another body was there to take his place-a woman, who avoided the blow and slung a friendly arm around Mei's shoulders.

"C'mon, Mizukage-sama," the woman cajoled. "It's a term of respect. You _are_ the captain of the Water District's police precinct, aren't you?"

Mei's look didn't brighten.

"You're such a party pooper, Mei-chan," another man said teasingly. Kakashi studied him quickly. A bit smaller in stature than Seiji, but otherwise his carbon copy. He had to be Daisuke. "Lighten up." But he said it fondly.

"We're about to decorate the tree," the woman holding her shoulders said, leading Mei away from the door.

Everyone seemed to be ignoring Kakashi, which would ordinarily be fine by him, but since the point of his presence was to get to know these people, it was beginning to be a bit of a problem.

"Where's the new guy? We need him."

Oh. Never mind.

Mei's shoulders stiffened and she turned to him, looking sheepish. "Kakashi," she said. "Meet my family." And she rattled off names so fast they blurred into one another. "Everyone, this is Kakashi."

There was a chorus of greetings, and then three little old ladies quite firmly led him into the living room and explained about "Terumi family customs."

Kakashi, who would much rather have been a wallflower and watched on the fringes, was going to be the star of the evening.

Dismayed but determined to do this for Mei's sake, he muttered to himself, "Guess I better try to memorise all those names…"


	14. Buying Silence

This was written months ago for the Anonymous Holiday Exchange over at kakasaku on livejournal. I've only just now gotten around to posting it here, so some of you may have seen it there around the new year. Sorry. But on a lighter note, my seething hatred of this seems to have lessened. Enjoy.

* * *

Kakashi had stopped paying attention to what Sakura was saying ten minutes ago. She tended to babble when she was nervous, and that habit intensified exponentially when they were in mortal danger. _How_ they had ended up in mortal danger was a bit of a mystery, since the mission had been a vacation.

Tsunade had ordered the pair of them out of the village and to the beach for a week. "Bring me back some colored fish," she'd said. "Take a week to catch them."

But now men with really big, really sharp swords were chasing them, for no reason either of them could readily remember, through the tourist trap of a village they'd been sent to and Sakura _wouldn't shut up_.

He rounded a corner and saw a little diner on the other side of the street. It was as good a place as any to hide from the crazies, so he grabbed Sakura's elbow and steered them toward it.

"Hey!" she screeched in protest. "You don't get to manhandle me!" She struggled in his hold.

"Sakura," Kakashi gritted out through clenched teeth, "shut up. We have men chasing us and we don't know why, you won't stop prattling, I'm trying to get us off the street so we can possibly escape and you're drawing stares. Now _behave_ and let me do this."

"Let go of my arm or I will bruise your internal organs," she hissed. "I can walk on my own."

She'd do it, too, Kakashi knew, so he dropped her arm and led the way into the restaurant. He chose a table seemingly at random, and Sakura slid into the seat across from him. He kept his eye discreetly on the large window at the front of the building.

The waitress approached, a petite, cute, deeply tanned girl with light brown eyes and wheat-gold hair up in a high ponytail. She was carrying menus and wearing a sour frown. Kakashi glanced distractedly at her when she blocked the view of the outside, and then she looked downright _mean_.

"I saw the way you grabbed her arm outside," she started. "You shouldn't treat your girlfriend that way, ninja or not."

"It isn't what you think," Sakura said hurriedly. "We—"

"I can recognize chauvinism when I see it," the waitress snapped. Kakashi tried to ignore her, but she had a shrill, piercing voice—even worse than Sakura's sometimes got—and the words she was stringing together in that voice were just ridiculous. Except—

"How do you know we're ninja?" Kakashi interrupted. He was dressed as a civilian tourist, in khaki carpenter shorts and sandals with a blindingly colored shirt. He wasn't wearing any holsters for any weapons and the Sharingan eye was covered with a black eye patch. Sakura wore a violently green sundress, strappy sandals, and a small shoulder bag that contained all the weapons and supplies they had packed that day.

The girl was startled. "What do you mean how do I know?"

"Ninja are trained to be inconspicuous," he stated. "But you knew with one glance. How?"

"B-Because," she spluttered, blushing. "I just…you're all…muscle-y and…_fit_ but it's the wrong kind of fit for a fisherman or carpenter or anything like that. You're not…_soft_ like normal people, I guess. And you're kind of twitchy," she added, speaking directly to Kakashi. "Like you're waiting for something." She shrugged, becoming more confident as she continued. "I've been people-watching for a long time. I've learned to identify people."

"Don't tell anyone," Kakashi ordered. The people in this town were _not_ fond of shinobi.

The waitress cocked a hip and crossed her arms. "Why not?" she demanded.

"Because I can kill you with a look," Kakashi said, completely deadpan. He willed Sakura not to giggle, as she had a habit of doing when he made empty threats.

"But you won't," the girl challenged. "I want something for my silence."

"You're right," Sakura interjected quickly, fixing Kakashi with a Look. "Neither of us will kill you, as long as you keep your mouth shut. What do you want?"

"I want something for my little brother," she said right away. "One of those knives you all carry. He wants to be a ninja."

A kunai as a bribe for silence? _That_ was new, Kakashi thought. He'd lose a kunai, but they were easily replaced. "Fine."

"Can you both sign it, too?" She was smiling eagerly and holding out a permanent marker.

"…You want it right now?" Kakashi asked blankly.

"Well, yes," the girl said, faltering a bit. The marker in her hand dipped. "When else am I going to get it?"

Kakashi was delayed in answering her when he noticed out of the corner of his eye their pursuers passing by outside. Neither of the dimwitted men looked inside and he relaxed marginally.

He stopped paying attention to the girl. Sakura kicked him under the table and rummaged through her bag for the kunai. When she'd found it, she accepted the permanent marker from their waitress and wrote her name on one side of the blade with a flourish. Kakashi was almost sullen as he snatched it up and started to scribble—

"If you sign that as Junko, I'll slit your throat while you're sleeping, Kakashi-senpai," Sakura said coolly. The waitress' eyes widened. "Just sign your name. Your handwriting is so awful that no one would recognize it anyway."

Reluctantly, Kakashi scrawled his real name on the kunai and capped the marker.

"Thank you!" the girl squealed, stuffing the marker back into her apron. She was much more careful in handling the weapon, holding it by the ring with two fingers. "Oh," she breathed. "It's heavier than I thought it would be. My brother will be so happy!" She lifted it to her eyes and examined the names. Then she seemed to remember what she was there for and did her job.

When they left the diner, almost an hour later, the men with the swords were nowhere to be seen. Kakashi returned with Sakura to the beach, one kunai lighter than they'd started the day with, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

It hadn't been a totally awful day.


	15. Compromised

Another take on the same prompt as the last oneshot, _Buying Silence_. I like this one much better. Hope you'll enjoy.

* * *

Someone was shaking her. That was the only thing she was certain of as she struggled to hold onto her lovely, warm dream of...what was she dreaming of?

"Sakura."

"Nngh...go away."

"We've been compromised, wake up. We need to leave."

"Both of us?" She was instantly awake.

"Yes. We have to go now."

It was the middle of the night, she was comfortable, warm, and still exhausted from her day. But Kakashi was shaking her awake and giving the order to clear out. He wasn't _technically _her superior on this mission, since it was _technically_ a solo, but he was also here on a solo, they happened to be working in conjunction and she trusted his judgment implicitly.

"Do I have time to pack?"

"I already did. All you have to do is get dressed and put shoes on."

She slid off the bed and set her feet on the floor. Kakashi was holding clothes out to her. They weren't her normal restrictive maid's uniform, but something closer to her normal outfit- stretchy, close-fitting black pants, a fitted t-shirt, also black, and sturdy leather sandals. It wasn't exactly ideal for fleeing, but it was better than the robe and wooden shoes next to her bed.

Dressing quickly, Sakura accepted the rucksack he handed her and slung it over her shoulders. Kakashi passed her a kunai and led her through the labyrinth of hallways that made up the house and it was as they were passing one of the bathrooms that Nature began to call her. Urgently.

Even though it was quiet now, she knew their "employers" had probably set up traps around the edge of the compound. If she was going, she had to do it now.

"Sempai," she began warningly. "I have to-" She broke off when he whirled around to glare at her.

"We don't have time for this," he snapped. "They could find us at any moment and then where will we be?"

"I'll be on the toilet," Sakura informed him tartly. "I'm not running for my life with a full bladder."

"Fine, but I'm-"

"You're not coming with me," she hissed at him. "You can wait outside the door if you're really that paranoid, but you are _not_ going into the bathroom with me."

He could easily have stopped her if he wanted to, but she knew he wasn't exactly eager to stand in a room with her while she peed. And she would just bitch at him incessantly if he kept her from doing it now.

"Fine," he growled. "Hurry up. We have to get out of here ASAP."

Sakura dashed for the door, latching it firmly behind her. She settled quickly to do her business and wash her hands. They were thoroughly lathered up when she heard the thump against the wall outside. She rinsed them hurriedly, dried off, and snatched up her kunai to get to Kakashi.

"Get down," he whispered the instant she stepped out.

There was a shuriken lodged in the wall above his head. "Thirty seconds," she mumbled. "I leave your side for thirty seconds and you're dodging weaponry when I come back."

"Hold it next time," he told her flatly. The next moment he had to sidestep rapidly to avoid a hail of senbon.

"We should find cover," Sakura said.

"Where?" Kakashi asked irritably, motioning down the long, straight, unadorned corridor. "This is the fastest way out."

"No, the fastest way out is a straight line," Sakura retorted. "And right now, that would probably be this window." She had opened the nearest unlocked door and found herself in a small waiting room, where a tiny window sat high in the wall. She doubted she could fit through it, but if the wall had a window, it connected directly to the outside and Sakura's fists could make a door.

Kakashi darted in and bolted the door behind him. "Waiting room door has a bolt..." he commented faintly. "Weird."

Sakura drew chakra to her hands, balled them, and punched the wall as hard as she could. Nothing happened.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Kakashi demanded, hovering restlessly in the middle of the room. "Break the wall, I know you can."

"I know I can too," she snapped. "I don't know what's going on."

She tried again, releasing her chakra in a precise burst the moment her fist hit the wall. Still nothing happened, except she cracked a bone in her hand.

"Ow," she breathed, sticking the finger in her mouth. After a moment, she summoned healing chakra and mended the crack. Kakashi had lifted the leather eye patch over his sharingan and was studying the wall closely.

"Damn," he muttered. "There's some kind of jutsu on it. Brute force won't work."

"Can you break the jutsu?"

"Not before the enemy arrives-"

He was cut off when the doorknob suddenly disappeared. "What the hell just happened?" Sakura screeched.

"The doorknob-" he started.

"I know what just happened," she snapped. "It was a rhetorical question. But what are we supposed to do now?"

"We escape," Kakashi said simply. "Hand me that kunai."

"What? We can't! We don't know how many enemies are out there, just waiting for us to come out," Sakura pointed out.

"I know," Kakashi answered. "But would you like to stay here and be sitting ducks instead?"

Sakura snorted. "I'd rather they opened the door first and bottleneck when they try to come in. We can pick them off."

Kakashi gave her a disapproving look and said, "You know that won't work, Sakura. Any number of them could be better than you, maybe even better than me. We can't risk that. Escape is our best option, and in order to do that, we have to get out of here. So hand me that kunai, _please."_

Sakura handed it over somewhat reluctantly. Kakashi shoved the tip into the hole where the door handle went through and turned. It cracked open, revealing a pitch-black hall and their way out. She was forced to resign herself to this decision when Kakashi stepped cautiously out. They stayed low to the ground, stepping carefully on the hardwood floor. It was an oddity, but no more weapons came their way.

She breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the main hallway. And then she realised the main hallway could mean only one thing.

"We're leaving through the front door?" she whispered hoarsely, trying not to scream her words.

"All the servant entrances will be swarming with guards," Kakashi said simply, like she was an idiot.

"Oh, and the front door won't be?" Sakura snarled.

"They'll probably expect it less than if we tried to leave through one of the other doors," he answered. "It's human nature to stick to habit- habit for us would have been one of those doors."

It made a strange kind of sense, but they still had to duck a spray of senbon when they stepped onto the porch.

"The spies are here!" someone shouted, and everyone surged forward- except Kakashi, who was no longer beside her.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Sakura roared, bracing herself for the attack. A man brandishing a ninjato rushed her first; his technique was poor- when he swung the blade, trying to show off, she noted he didn't know how to defend his lower abdomen when he attacked from above.

He raised the sword above his head. Sakura aimed for his gut. The sword started to fall, she started to swipe-

She couldn't see him anymore. In fact, she couldn't see anything.

"You little moron," someone muttered furiously at her. "You actually thought you could take on that entire mob?"

Her vision cleared. Sakura was in a tree, Kakashi was crouched next to her and the house was nowhere she could sense. She had to fight vertigo for a moment.

"How did I get here?" she finally managed.

"I brought you," he said. "How could you think you could manage against that many on your own?"

"I know you brought me, dumbass, I meant how did you bring me?" she demanded, ignoring his question. They were far enough away from the house and enemies that it couldn't have been a simple body flicker or transportation jutsu- those were usually only good for short distances, a mile or two at the most.

"Long-range transportation jutsu," he said. "I set it up shortly after you arrived in case of, well, this. Let's move before they send search parties. We're only about fifteen miles away, so it won't take them long to find us if they start looking."

Not to mention they were both short on rest, food, and water, and they still had four days between them and home.

Sakura was mildly offended at the implication that she would have screwed everything up, but she knew now wasn't the time to argue. Kakashi leapt to another branch and she followed quickly. They didn't have very much information between them, but they had enough to give Konoha a start against this enemy.


	16. Monster

Inspired by, but obviously not _for_, the Make It Work challenge hosted by LJ's kakasaku community last month. This oneshot pretty much wrote itself in, like, an hour and a half at one A.M. Enjoy.

* * *

"There's a monster under my bed! Kakashi-chan!"

The terrified scream echoed through the entire house, and Kakashi, though unshakeable under even the most horrific circumstances, jumped to his feet and began sprinting down the hall. He was only halfway there when a blur of pink and frills slammed into his legs, tripping him up and wrapping itself there with no intention of being pried off.

"Dammit, Rin," he grumbled under his breath. "I'm an elite jonin—practically in ANBU—and you've got me _babysitting_."

The blur, which had resolved itself into a small child, whimpered against his thigh. "Kakashi-chan," she whispered. "Please come, Kakashi-chan. There's a monster under my bed and it wants to eat me!"

He really wished Rin were here—she was the one supposed to be looking after the kid, after all. But a medical emergency had called her away to the hospital and he was the only one she could find (and bully into this) on such short notice.

The little girl pulled back and looked up at him. Her face was tear-streaked and red and she was trembling faintly. She gave a pathetic little sniffle.

"Please come kill it," she begged.

_Dammit._ Why did this happen to him? On Friday of all nights, when Genma, Asuma, and a few others were headed out to get shit-faced drunk and hook up with girls. He supposed he should be happy—if a monster under a three-year-old's bed was the worst of his problems, it was a damn good day.

"Alright," he sighed, remembering the promising glint in Rin's eyes as she stormed into his tiny apartment with a sleepy-eyed, pink-haired toddler and handed her off to him with directions back to her house. He'd better be _well-compensated_ for this later. "C'mon, let's go get rid of your monster, Sakura-chan."

She whimpered again and held her chubby little arms up in a clear sign she wanted to be carried. He grimaced but picked her up anyway, and she snuggled comfortably into the crook of his neck. Her dampened face wet his shirt.

Why were girls always so clingy? he wondered as he entered her bedroom. She wiggled against his chest and he heard her little gasp of fear when he tried to set her down on the bed. Sakura's fingers tightened on his undershirt where it covered his throat, which threatened to take his mask down, so he had to stay bent over as he said, "Sakura-chan, I can't kill the monster with you on my face."

"I want to stand behind you," she cried, eyes shining with frightened tears.

Kakashi's eyebrow twitched. "Fine." He grabbed her off the bed, set her on his other side and dropped to the floor to peer into the murky darkness under her bed. "There's nothing here, Sakura-chan," he said.

"There is!" she protested. "I heard it talking, it wants to gobble me up!"

By the desperate alarm and anger in her eyes, there was no winning this argument. He just wanted to get back to the couch and the novel Jiraiya-sama had given him…

"Alright, so how do I kill it?" he asked, trying to humor her.

"I don't know!" she shrieked, fixing him with a look that told him how dumb she thought he was. "How do you kill anything? Just stab it." Which was awfully violent coming from a three-year-old.

"You've been spending too much time with Rin," he muttered as he reached under his shirt for a slim knife he always carried in his waistband.

"Wait!" she yelled. Kakashi looked at her. "I want to see it." He held the blade out to her. She inspected it carefully before nodding. "Okay."

He swiped at the shadows and sat up. "There," he said flatly. "All dead. Go back to sleep now, Sakura-chan."

The girl met his gaze stubbornly. "You missed," she informed him in a monotone, clearly mimicking him.

"I did not!" he argued.

"Yes, you did. It's over there." And she pointed to the _other_ end of the bed. _Of course._ Sakura regarded it with the absolute terror only small children were truly capable of, and he just wanted to get this over with. He shuffled to the other side and jabbed his knife into the darkness there.

"Did I get it this time?" he asked.

"Y-Yes," she stammered, eyeing her bed with trepidation. "But I don't want to stay here alone. What if it comes back?" She turned her huge green eyes on him again.

"Monsters don't come back," Kakashi said, and then added, making it up as he went along, "because once they're killed by adults like me, they're trapped in the afterlife by heroes of the past."

He got a look he recognised from Rin—that flat, almost bored I-know-you're-feeding-me-a-line-of-bullshit _stare_ that always made him uncomfortable. Astonished that someone so young could pull it off as effectively as his girlfriend, he fidgeted.

Man, the way this girl had mood swings made him hope that this was the _last_ time he'd _ever_ see her.

"Can I have some peach ice cream?" Now she was giving him an eager little smile, coyly hidden behind her hands.

Realisation twigged in Kakashi's brain. "This was all a ploy to get me to let you stay up late and eat ice cream, wasn't it?" he asked.

Sakura's green eyes went wide. "No!" she protested in a patently sweet voice. "There _was_ a monster under my bed."

"And now I've killed it—" This was seriously the most ridiculous argument he'd ever had. "Look," he snapped, irritated, "just get back in bed. The monster is gone, okay?"

"But I want ice cream," she whined. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes again.

Kakashi hated it when girls cried. He never knew what to do, and his resolve crumbled under the leak in her face.

"Fine," he mumbled, knowing he was in deep shit if Rin ever found out about this. "Come on."

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, following him with an enthusiastic skip in her steps. The short walk to the kitchen felt more like a death march to Kakashi as he trudged along. The toddler hummed tunelessly behind him, and he thought viciously to himself that he'd heard cats in heat making pleasanter noises.

In the kitchen, Sakura demanded to be allowed to sit on the counter as he fixed her a bowl of peach ice cream. But first he had to dig out the peach ice cream. Which either the girl's parents or Rin had hidden in the back of the freezer.

"Son of a…" he muttered, and continued grumbling curses under his breath as he shuffled aside various frozen vegetables to find the treat.

A scream ripped through the silence for the second time that night, and Kakashi grabbed the first thing that came to hand to use as a weapon.

It was a frozen toaster waffle wrapped in cellophane. Kakashi could have died of embarrassment.

Beside Sakura, crawling on eight spindly legs across the counter toward the sink, was a spider. Sighing and vaguely irritated with the universe—he and Lady Fate were going to have to have a _talk_—he stepped over to the counter and smacked the waffle down on the spider.

Sakura whimpered when he lifted the waffle away and the spider-smear was left.

_Please, someone, anyone—one of you fuckers has _got_ to be on my side—make it stop. Let Rin get back soon,_ Kakashi prayed silently. _If she doesn't, well, the Sharingan has its uses outside battle, too…_

Immediately, the voice that sounded just like Rin went off in his head. _Use that eye on that girl and I will make it my life's mission to ensure that your balls never come back from navy blue,_ it snarled, and Kakashi gulped, continuing to ransack the freezer for the ice cream.

Rin came back four hours later, ready to drop, to the sight of a sticky-faced three-year-old deeply asleep on a grumpy-looking seventeen-year-old jonin, who was also deeply asleep. She smiled gently and made her silent way over to the pair to lift the girl off Kakashi's chest and carry her up to her bed.


	17. Timeline

Disclaimer: Don't own. Also, I completely ignored canon, so is this even really necessary?

Notes: This is Del's giftfic, which is over five months overdue. She requested _Naruto, Senju clan before/during the founding of Konoha (preferably with an emphasis on Tobirama), For how long?_ So, the _for_ _how long_ part of the prompt kind of got, um, blatantly ignored (because I was struggling with this one), which is why this is in a semi-timeline format. Can be interpreted as for how long _between events_…? I hope you like it, my dear—and I am _so sorry_ for the tardiness.

To the rest of you expecting fic from me: It is coming. I'm working on them now.

—

When he is seven weeks old, Tobirama survives his first attack by the Uchiha. This is based more on the skill of his nursemaid than luck, because he is born in a compound where even the lowliest servant is a highly trained killer. Also, his mother and older brother were in the nursery when the raid started and the three shinobi they sent were barely out of training.

Hashirama is seven and already one of the best. He senses the first shockwaves of battle before their opponents have even managed to crack open a window. He kills the last one in, knowing Ami will take care of the other two.

Hashirama's first concern after the raid ends and the attacking Uchiha lie dead and scattered is his baby brother. Before even wiping the flecks of blood from his cheeks, he goes to the crib in front of which his mother crouches and smoothes the hair from the infant's forehead.

Blood smears Tobirama's face and all Hashirama can do is smile in relief.

—

When he is three years old, Hashirama teaches Tobirama to throw a kunai. He masters it within three weeks. Next, Hashirama teaches him to throw shuriken. Tobirama masters it within three days. By the time he is six, Tobirama's taijutsu is perfect. By the time he is eight, he has perfected his ninjutsu and genjutsu skills. At nine, he proves his tactical and strategic genius with a flawlessly executed raid on an Uchiha camp. At twelve, he is considered Hashirama's lieutenant, in charge when the nineteen-year-old clan leader is away.

—

When he is seventeen years old, Tobirama falls in love with an Uchiha girl. They meet on a blood-soaked battlefield, two of the last half-dozen or so fighters from either side left standing. She is extraordinarily beautiful, even under all the grit and grime of the past three weeks of war.

He notices the color of her eyes as she moves in close enough to attempt to run him through with her blade—a shade of grey softer than the flat black of the main branch. Her hair, though, that is the raven typical of the Uchiha, as are her pale skin and haughty, angular features.

Her hair feels greasy when he catches her by it after she fails to kill him. As he is trying to drag her to him, she lifts her hands and shears her hair off with the sword she carries. He is left with a fistful of black strands and he laughs.

He wants to know her name, so he asks her for it. The request seems to draw her up short, and she hesitates before she answers.

_Miu._

The battle ends when the Senju retreat with the intention of regrouping. The Uchiha send a messenger, requesting talks for peace. A truce is reached.

Tobirama seeks out Miu and finds out everything about her.

—

When he is eighteen years old, Tobirama marries Miu. She is twenty-one and heavily pregnant at the time. His family disapproves, unwilling to believe that she is carrying an heir of the Senju, but she has long since stopped looking at him with distrustful eyes—he and his brother Hashirama are the only members of the Senju clan she trusts—and that is enough for him.

Hashirama has begun speaking of a forming a static village. He has also begun speaking of forming a permanent alliance with the Uchiha—to begin with. His dreams, as they always are, are huge. He is very likely to get the entire clan on his side; Hashirama has always been inspiring and persuasive.

By the time Miu gives birth, Hashirama has gathered the support of the main branch of the Senju and begun speaking with the leaders emerging from the fall of the Empire. After the first round of meetings, he enlists Tobirama's aid.

Hashirama, for all his prowess on the battlefield, is a terrible diplomat.

—

When he is twenty-five years old, Tobirama secures a deal with the daimyo of the newly formed Fire Country for several hundred square miles of land.

Within the next two years, Hashirama forms alliances with the Hyuuga, Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, Mitokado, and Akimichi clans. Almost by default, the Yamanaka and Nara clans join the pact, due to their long history with the Akimichi.

The Uchiha is the last family to join the original treaty, although when Hashirama writes the history later, he will claim they co-founded Konoha and earned their place as the police force.

—

When he is thirty-three years old, Tobirama buries Miu. She is the fifth ninja to be buried in the plot on the compound, and the first kunoichi. She has given him four beautiful, talented children over the course of their fifteen-year marriage.

He has to fight to have her entombed in the Senju plot when Uchiha Madara tries to claim her body from the medics.

His three oldest children, their daughters, prepare her body for her funeral. Tobirama and their son craft her coffin in the meantime.

Afterward, Tobirama throws himself into his work, organising a school, structuring the Council of Elders, and arranging meetings with high-level medics to set up a hospital. He also sets mission level parameters and takes on several of the highest-ranked himself.

He takes on a team from the first graduating class and trains them as he would train any other squad.

—

When he is thirty-five years old, international tension boils over and war breaks out with the youngest and most arrogant of the fledging static villages, Kirigakure. Soon enough, the other three villages have involved themselves and the civilians of Fire Country flee to the perceived safety of Konohagakure, calling the conflict the Great Shinobi War.

Hashirama, who has become known as the Hokage—Fire Shadow—dies along with Madara when the Uchiha tries to rebel at the Valley of the End and Tobirama naturally assumes leadership responsibilities. In spite of his new title and respect, he volunteers to be a decoy in a huge battle and names Hiruzen, a talented young man of the Sarutobi clan, his successor.

Ever since he helped Hashirama form Konohagakure, he has considered it his home. _His._ And he is willing to die to protect it.

—


	18. Making Family

Giftfic for Deni, who requested _Naruto; Itachi/Sakura; she didn't want to be just a memory_. I am so, so sorry this is late, honey muffin. You have permission to flog me. And stuff. ;) Er, I should probably warn you: Genderbend ahead. Also language.

* * *

_Making Family_

* * *

_"__Naruto!"_ Sakura howled, hopping awkwardly around his crap on one foot for a moment. "Don't you ever fucking _clean?"_

"Language," Sasuke scolded absently from her lounging position at Naruto's messy desk. "There are virgin ears here."

To which Sakura responded with a string of violent swearing that would have made the foulest-mouthed sailor—or Naruto—blush. Sasuke, however, remained unaffected, still idly flipping through some magazine or other. It was porn, probably from her boyfriend's collection. Looking at Naruto's bed, it was confirmed; a corner of a cardboard box was sticking out from underneath.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto hollered, voice muffled. He appeared in the door of his closet after a moment. "Hey, why are you here? Don't you have a date with the bitch's brother tonight or something?"

Sakura put on a hurt expression and flopped onto Naruto's mercifully made and otherwise unoccupied bed. "Why would you ask that, Naruto-kun? Don't you like hanging out with me?"

Naruto's blue eyes got huge and he backpedaled so fast he tripped over his own tongue in response.

"NoSakura-chanIlikehangingoutwithyouId idn'tmeantosaythat—"

"Shut up, you moron," Sasuke interrupted. She flicked a pencil at the snickering girl on her boyfriend's bed. "She played you."

"And yes," she said. "I have a date with Itachi. It's later tonight. Right now, we have a study date." She sat up, yanking her book bag onto the mattress beside her and pulling books out. "That means _all of us," _she added, glancing at Naruto.

When he refused to comply, she directed a scathingly meaningful look at Sasuke, who gave every appearance of being engrossed in an article in Naruto's porn. Knowing her, though, she probably _was_ reading the article. Weirdo. Sakura flicked the pencil back at her and she ducked before it could hit her.

Okay, so she was a weirdo with uncanny reflexes. Whatever. They still needed to study for finals.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Naruto's mother arrived at home. The first thing she did was storm her son's room, her curtain of shiny red hair swinging wildly as she gave Sakura and Sasuke the boot. Her loud voice followed them out, scolding Naruto for the state of his bedroom.

The last thing they heard before closing the front door behind them was Naruto whimpering, "Sorry, Mom, ow, ow, _ow—"_

"So," Sakura began awkwardly.

Ever since she'd started going out with Sasuke's older brother, things had been strained at best between the two of them. They rarely hung out alone anymore, using boisterous Naruto as a buffer and counting on him to carry along the conversation.

"Need a ride to my place?" Sasuke asked, hitching her backpack higher on her shoulder. "I know you're supposed to meet Itachi there."

"No," she answered. "I only live a block away from here and I need to get ready for—_mmmph!"_

She whipped her head back from where Sasuke had apparently decided to _attack_ her. She'd smashed her mouth to Sakura's so hard their teeth had clicked through their lips and was that blood she tasted? It was a little hard to tell through the pain and dizziness caused by the nose that had collided with hers.

"Sasuke, what the _hell_ was that?" she demanded, eyes closed. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose and resisted the urge to beat her violently about the head and face.

"Kimphing you," she mumbled.

"What?"

She muttered something even more quietly, and then said, "I was kissing you. I wanted to get your attention." She sounded…embarrassed.

Sakura opened her eyes to the sight of Sasuke red as a cherry, mouth pinched sourly.

"Well, it fucking hurt," she snapped before better sense could clue her in to how stupid a comment that would be.

Sasuke's scowl deepened as the silence continued.

"Why?" she finally asked.

She fidgeted uneasily. Her gaze darted all around, bouncing from tree to house to car to sidewalk to grass to tree and skittering over her face before settling on her shoulder. "Because," she finally said.

"Because why?" Sakura pressed. She'd had an enormous crush on Sasuke when she was fourteen—the only attraction she'd ever really felt for another girl—before she'd become friends with her and realized just how much she'd kill her if they were together. The crush had never been requited. And then she'd met Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, and begun dating him. They'd been together for almost two years, only slightly more time than Naruto and Sasuke had been a couple.

Sasuke had been withdrawing from her since almost the beginning. She thought it was because of her romance with Itachi, that the thought of them grossed her out or something, or if she was angry with her. The whole situation confused and upset her, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up with either of them. She loved Itachi but didn't want to lose her friendship with Sasuke to be with him.

"Just…just because."

"That is not an answer, Sasuke," she informed her tartly.

"Because I was friends with you first!" she burst out. Once the words were out, more spilled behind them. Sasuke couldn't get them out fast enough. "I was friends with you before you started dating my brother and you're cutting me and Naruto out to spend time with him! I just don't—it's like you don't care about me anymore."

_Oh,_ Sakura thought. Before she could say anything, Sasuke continued.

"I don't want Naruto and I to be memories while you're off being stupid and happy with my brother." The confession felt forced, but the honesty in her friend's black eyes was shocking. Sasuke had always been a caustic, sarcastic girl who hated sharing her feelings.

"Sasuke," Sakura said softly. "I would never, ever abandon you for your brother." She made a snap decision and Itachi would just have to deal. "Clear your schedule Saturday. We're having a girl's day, just you and me."

"But—"

"No," she interrupted. "We'll kidnap Naruto for breakfast and then he can wander around town somewhere while we hang." Before the other girl could protest, Sakura surged forward and hugged her hard. "I won't tell Naruto about the kiss, either. For both of our good."

She stepped off Naruto's front porch and hurried to her house down the street, irrationally excited for the weekend.

* * *

Itachi's personal space was always immaculate, which by turns endeared him to her and made her want to tear through the place like a hurricane. But for some reason, it didn't bother her today as she stretched out on his bed on her back and absently watched him type away at his computer.

Sasuke would walk by every now and then, carrying various things in her arms, to check on them. One of the rules of the Uchiha household was that significant others could be in the bedrooms, but the door had to stay open at all times. Sasuke, nosy girl that she liked to be on occasion, often took advantage of that rule.

During a lull in the pace of Itachi's typing, Sakura spoke.

"So, your sister kissed me today."

Itachi hummed. "I thought Sasuke might try to do something," he remarked, unsurprised. "She's prone to fits of insanity. Did she say why?"

"She blamed you," Sakura said, laughing. "She thought I was spending too much time with you and not enough with her and Naruto. So I'm canceling Saturday with you. Sorry, baby."

"But tonight is still on?" he asked, sounding slightly worried. She knew it was pretend when he spun his chair around to stare at her.

"Yes," she said, smirking coyly. He stood up and walked over to the bed. She sat up as he perched beside her. "Tonight is still on."

"Good." Itachi gave her a warm, genuine smile. His dark eyes lit up happily. He leaned in to give her a kiss. "Tonight is important."

Sakura laughed. "Our dates are always important, Itachi." She kissed him. "C'mon, we should go. Our reservation is for six-thirty, right?"

He ignored her—probably thinking she was trying to wheedle the restaurant out of him again—and climbed on the bed, snuggling into her. She squealed. "It's only five forty-five," he said. "The restaurant's only five minutes away. We have time."

"You're gonna wrinkle my dress!" she protested. "And your door is open—"

"So anyone could walk by, see what we're doing, and choke on the adorable," Itachi cut in dryly. "I just want to lay here. Maybe make out a little, 'cause you're wearing that pineapple lip balm again."

"You have the nose of a bloodhound," Sakura grumbled, but twisted around to kiss him anyway.

* * *

They showed up to dinner at the fanciest place in town ten shades of disheveled. Itachi met the host's eyes flatly, daring him to comment. The older man made no mention of their rumpled clothes as he seated them.

"Your server will be with you shortly, sir, madam," he told them before retreating to his podium.

"Itachi," Sakura hissed, snapping out her napkin and settling it across her lap. "This place? You let me come _here_ looking like this? And for the love of God, _why_ here? You can't afford this!"

"Sakura," he replied soothingly. "Calm down. I can afford it, trust me. I decided on here because this night is special."

She squinted her eyes at him suspiciously, but quieted down and started asking about his graduation ceremony on Sunday.

"Rehearsal went smoothly on Wednesday," he told her. "But I think Shisui is planning something stupid for the actual ceremony."

Giggling, she answered, "I wouldn't put it past him. That boy is out of his mind."

Their server appeared. Itachi placed their orders—the menu had been in Greek, a language Sakura hadn't been able to study yet—and they continued chatting over the salads and pasta dishes.

Their server came around again just before they finished their plates to ask about desserts and Itachi requested baklava to share. When Sakura tried to object because she was so full, he waved her off.

"Trust me," he said. "You're going to want this."

She furrowed her brow in confusion, but finally agreed to it. A few moments later, the sweet appeared on the table, and Itachi was staring at her. It was a bit disconcerting, she decided, as she lifted her fork to dig in.

There was a ring on the plate. It was a simple little thing, just a slim gold band set with a small diamond, but the fork clattered from her numb fingers. Her mind went white.

"Itachi," she wheezed. "What—what—" She stopped, unable to draw a breath. "You're not…hohgod."

He was looking a little panicked. "Sakura?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

_Like he doesn't know._

"R-ring," she choked, fanning herself.

"It's not an engagement ring," he said slowly. "I'm not asking you to marry me."

That statement, especially paired with the ring, would disappoint most women but it calmed Sakura considerably. And a calm Sakura meant a Sakura who could think. Which meant she was thinking about how offended Itachi might be at her reaction.

"I'm sorry," she blurted out. "I mean, I love you—so much—but I'm only seventeen and, yes, I would love to spend my life with you but we're still just kids…" She was rambling but she couldn't make herself stop.

Itachi laughed. "I know," he said soothingly. "I understand. It's a promise ring. It means I'll always love you and that I plan to propose someday. That's all."

Now there were tears in her eyes as she plucked the ring from the plate and slid it onto her finger. It fit perfectly.

Sakura giggled, slightly hysterical, through her tears, and said, "Oh, Sasuke. She's never going to be just a memory. She's going to be _family."_

Itachi's answering grin was downright wicked.


	19. When Samurai Attack

I don't own Naruto, nor am I associated in any way with its production. I'm not making any money writing this (trust me, if I was, I'd be much more productive). Also, I may have mangled history, for which you history majors have my sincerest apology.

Holiday giftfic for pockyphoto, who requested _Naruto, KakaSaku, feudal Japan AU._ You have my permission to tie me up and beat me publicly for the tardiness. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

_When Samurai Attack_

* * *

The smell of smoke and charred flesh was strong in the air, choking him even two days after the last embers had gone out - and through his cloth mask. He was getting sick of only being able to _react_ to these attacks on his daimyo's people. Kakashi had always been a man of action. He wanted to sink his teeth - or better yet, his blade - into the men behind this.

His skill set was really more suited to subterfuge or outright battle, but Sarutobi-sama had deemed it fit for him to investigate the latest ransacked village. The survivor who'd initially reported the siege stumbled through the wreckage behind him. The man had already thrown up twice, and Kakashi honestly couldn't blame him. There were few whole bodies left - if burnt could be considered whole - most of those tied to posts, and not a single structure was left standing.

He'd already gotten all the details he could wring out of the survivor and now he was trying to determine the original source of the fire. He doubted there was only one.

A new rustling off to one side caught his attention, and he whirled to face it, gesturing to the man behind him to stay put while he checked it out. Before Kakashi could take a single step, however, a soot-streaked figure poked its face out of the ruins of a barn. Bright green eyes, startling smudges of color in the gray, were wary as they took him in and skipped to the person behind him.

"Teuchi-san?"

"Haruno-chan?" the man asked. The figure stepped out of the shadows. "Sakura, it's safe. This is one of Sarutobi-sama's samurai."

Afternoon light hit the small shape, illuminating it for his study, and it turned out to be a young woman. Her clothes were filthy, torn, and covered in bits of leaves. Twigs were tangled in her long, unbound hair. She was barefoot.

"Sakura," Teuchi said again. He was holding a hand out to her. She skirted around Kakashi, never putting her back to him, and grasped the man's hand. He yanked her into him, arms going around her in a fierce hug. He said something to her - something Kakashi couldn't catch - and crumbled when she shook her head in the negative against his chest. He trembled violently.

Kakashi looked away to give them some semblance of privacy in their moment of grief. When it turned into something longer than a moment, he began to walk away, continuing his study of this attack.

* * *

Sakura barely knew Teuchi-san, but she clutched him tight. She was a little fuzzy on how she'd ended up in his embrace in the first place - all she could remember was a rush of dizzying relief at seeing a familiar face after two days of blur.

"Ayame?" he whispered.

Sakura froze for a moment before shaking her head.

Teuchi's tremors eventually turned into sobs, and his legs seemed to give out. She ended up on the ground, huddled in his grasp with his heaving breaths shuffling her hair. By the time he had calmed down, the sun was just above the horizon and the samurai was hovering.

"Come on, you two," he said. "We need to get back."

She was reluctant to go anywhere with him, despite Teuchi's assurance that he was one of Sarutobi's men. He was in full battle dress, and the last time she'd seen samurai, they'd been terrorizing her village.

"We have food and beds," the samurai said.

She paused even as Teuchi rose to his feet and began to join him.

"You can have a bath," added the samurai, clearly hoping to entice Sakura. It worked. She'd spent the past week in the wilderness. She knew she looked terrible, and she certainly felt it. She stood but didn't make any move to close the gap between them, still hesitant.

It seemed to snap the last of the samurai's patience. He strode forward and snatched her around the waist, ignoring her attempt at flinching away, and slung her over his shoulder.

She froze with panic. The men who'd attacked had taken girls this way. She'd heard them screaming for help as she fled; guilt had flooded her as she'd sped past, unable to help.

"Put me down," Sakura breathed. "I'll walk." She couldn't breathe. Her head felt light and far away.

The samurai dropped her into Teuchi's grip and stalked off. Teuchi wrapped an arm around her, guiding her into a walk a few yards behind the samurai. He led them east for several hours to an enormous estate. It was fully dark by then, and Sakura was more than ready to fall into a bed - any bed - and sleep for a week.

A young woman greeted them in the small house the samurai led them to. She looked familiar, Sakura thought, as she watched her stowing away the samurai's and Teuchi's shoes.

"Thank you," the samurai said. "Take the girl to a room. Bring her clothes and set up a bath for her. Then send someone to the main house to tell Sarutobi-sama that I will report to him first thing in the morning. That will be all for tonight."

"Yes, Hatake-san," the young woman answered. She bowed as the samurai walked away. Teuchi disappeared into the house after bidding a good night to Sakura.

"Come with me, miss," she said, rising to her feet. "I'll show you to a room." She turned down a hallway into the opposite side of the house, leading Sakura to a small, sparse bedroom furnished with a single futon and a chest in one corner. "I'll have a bath sent to-"

"Tenten?" Sakura gasped.

The young woman met her eyes for the first time since she'd set foot in the house. She stared at Sakura for a long moment, tracing her features, lingering on her eyes. Finally, she smiled.

"Sakura," she said warmly, holding her arms out. "It's been so long. I'm sorry."

She stepped closer and hugged Tenten hard. And that was when it really hit - her village was gone. All of the people she'd ever known were dead, including her husband and her parents. The dizziness from earlier returned, with twenty times the force. Sakura felt sick, but tears refused to come. She was grateful for that, if nothing else.

"How did you do it?" Sakura choked out. She was clutching her old friend like a lifeline.

"Do what?" Tenten asked softly, sounding confused.

_"Survive."_

Tenten was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," she finally said. It sounded like a confession. "I was so young when my parents were killed...I didn't really understand what was going on for a long time. When I _did _realize what had happened, I just...kept going like I had been. It was all I could do. Hatake-san helped, taking me in the way he did. He helped me focus. He's a good man, Sakura."

Sakura remained silent. There was no way she could see handling the days to come without falling apart, but an eerie stillness had crept into her now. She pulled away from Tenten.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice was empty. "I'd like that bath now, please."

Tenten's mouth rounded for a moment, her brown eyes sad. "Alright." She left. Sakura settled on the tatami floor, her legs crossed. For lack of anything better to do, she began to finger-comb her hair, picking out bits of foliage.

Tenten returned shortly after that, hauling a large wooden basin. A few other girls trotted behind her, each holding a big, steaming pot. Tenten set up the tub in the center of the room and each of the girls made two more trips toting water before the tub was filled enough. Then she helped Sakura undress, setting her ruined clothing in a pile outside the door to be burned. She stepped into the bath.

"Moegi, bring some fresh clothes, please," Tenten ordered. "And some food, if you would. Thank you." She gathered up the soap and cloth as the younger girl left with a nod and a smile. "Would you like me to wash your hair?"

The weariness settling in Sakura's bones told her she wouldn't be wise to refuse, so she nodded.

* * *

She followed the samurai's movements with interested eyes from her darkened corner of the porch. He was bare from the waist up, missing every bit of armor, and drenched in sweat. He'd been going through sword drills for over two hours now - and that was just the time she'd been watching. He'd been dripping when she came across him.

The samurai moved with grace. He flowed through the movements, made them almost a dance. A longing began to unfurl in Sakura's heart, startling in its intensity. She'd barely felt anything for the past three weeks, drifting through chores in the samurai's house and suffering through nightmares when she slept.

But now, as she watched him smoothly sheath his blade and set it aside, she _wanted._

"I know you're there, girl."

Sakura jerked at the sudden sound of his voice. She wasn't sure what to do, but she didn't plan on moving - Tenten had told her to take the afternoon and rest - and she certainly didn't plan on apologizing. Observing the samurai had seemed as good an idea as any. Instead, she stepped out of the shadows and stayed silent.

"Why are you watching me?"

"I had nothing better to do," she replied blithely.

"You're very bold, girl," the samurai said. His tone was neutral.

"I'm very honest, samurai," she almost snarled in return.

"My name is Kakashi." Now the samurai sounded pleased, which bewildered Sakura. "And anger is good. But you need to separate me from the men who destroyed your village. I am _not_ one of them."

Sakura flew at him, fist balled. He sidestepped. She fell on her face.

"I'm going to teach you."

* * *

The girl's hair was pink. That was, illogically, the first thing Kakashi noticed about her when he saw her the morning after she'd arrived at his house. The next thing he'd noticed was that she had a warrior's spirit, dampened as it was at the moment.

He'd kept her on as a servant, even after the other survivor's offer of taking her in and taking her north, to his sister's. He'd asked Tenten for her name, ignoring her secret smile as she'd given it to him - _Sakura. _Now she was staring at him, studying his every moment with naked lust in her eyes. But it wasn't him she wanted, it was his skills.

Well. Woman or not, she could do what he did. Tenten had certainly taken to the warrior training like a fish to water.

* * *

The girl's limbs were trembling when he finally let her rest. He'd worked her hard all day. She would barely be able to move tomorrow, and he would push her twice as hard. She was doing well.

"Why - " she panted, raising a limp hand to brush loose strands of hair out of her face. "Why are you doing this?"

"Someone has to defend this place when the men are away at war," Kakashi answered vaguely. It was true, but it wasn't the answer to her question. He took the few steps to the water bucket and drank from the ladle. The girl stared enviously. Because this was only her first week of training and he remembered all too well how brutal it was, he had pity and carried the ladle to her. "Small sips. Too fast and you'll be sick."

The girl accepted it slowly, taking the water in short swallows. After a few minutes, she let it rest in her lap. "Thank you," she said softly, gaze downcast. "But why are you doing this?"

Kakashi looked sideways at her. "Because I can. And because you need it." That would frustrate her, he knew, but he didn't care. He wasn't sure how to explain his reasoning, and he didn't want to try.

Fortunately, the girl seemed satisfied with his enigmatic reply for the moment. She was stubborn, though, and he knew she would ask again eventually. For now, she just passed him the ladle when he dismissed her and left.

He would need a better answer prepared.


End file.
